Bells
by jbn42
Summary: Alicia can't help but wonder how she got herself into this situation, but in it she is, and she will execute her roles with military precision. Or at least with as much military precision as she can manage in a dress.
1. Chapter 1

Fluff ahead. Lots and lots of fluff. I've written baby fic, so I guess wedding fic (x 2!) isn't that surprising. And I had no idea what Guz's first name is – so I called him Isaac, because I think I've seen someone else call him Isaac.

Note, this is set in the context of my other stories, but definitely not necessary to read those for this to make sense – just be aware that in my context now, Wash and Taylor are married and have a little girl named Gracie, and the Sixers have come back to Terra Nova.

My posting here is finally just about caught up with my posting at LiveJournal - the first few chapters are done, but then will be posting simultaneously here and on LJ.

**Disclaimer is as usual – no profit, not mine (except Gracie, of course), just borrowing.**

_I always want to sit at the kids' table at weddings. They can eat chicken nuggets, complain about how boring it is and go and play outside – and nobody gets offended.  
–Anonymous_

For Alicia, the morning began like any other Monday. Dunham showed up for his turn at Gracie Watch, the totally volunteer duty performed by various members of the colony military, watching her and Nathaniel's two-and-a-half year old, Gracie, while Alicia and Nathaniel do perimeter patrol.

Then, they got home, cooked breakfast for themselves, Gracie and Dunham, and Dunham left for his regular duty. Nathaniel headed for command while Alicia took Gracie to pre-school and then headed to command herself. After she got there, she and Nathaniel went over construction requests from various colonists and discussed some supply issues while they waited for members of the science, medical and security staff to show up for their weekly Monday morning meeting.

That's when things got strange. Carter came in grinning like a cheshire cat. That made Alicia nervous on its own. Then, the last to arrive, after Elisabeth, Shannon and Malcolm, were Guz and Mira. Guz looked far happier than usual and Mira seemed downright…girly. And, they were holding hands when they entered; for the low-key pair, that should've raised an alarm all on its own.

When the meeting ended, Guz and Mira approached Nathaniel and Alicia. Guz asked Nathaniel if he had a moment, and when Nathaniel said yes, if he didn't mind walking and talking, that was fine, as Nathaniel had a training session with some of the guys lined up. After they left, Mira turned to her and asked her the same thing, if she had a moment.

Alicia had agreed. Another alarm should've gone off in her head when she noticed Carter loitering nearby and how his face fell a little when Alicia went out on the balcony with Mira.

But here she now stands, on the balcony with Mira, someone she has surprisingly come to consider a good friend. Mira seems nervous, fidgeting with the bracelet she's wearing, one Alicia hasn't seen before. It's made of several strands of varying colors of metal, braided together. She points at it. "That's pretty. Is it new?"

Mira gets a goofy smile on her face. "Yes. Isaac gave it to me this weekend."

"OK, Mira, you're being really weird today. What's going on?" Alicia gives her a bemused look.

"Isaac proposed yesterday. He gave me this instead of an engagement ring." Beaming, she indicates the bracelet. "It's made of some of the different alloys that Malcolm has been experimenting with. Isaac got some of the scraps and actually made it for me."

Alicia blinks in surprise. "Wow. That's even faster than I expected. It's only been two weeks since the quarantine." Alicia refers to a recent incident where Mira, Skye, Malcolm and Nathaniel all fell ill from exposure to a potentially deadly toxin that attacks the respiratory system, disaster being averted because Malcolm had already sorted out what the treatment was. "And it's awfully sweet that he made it for you."

"It's perfect. I'm not really a ring kind of woman. He has one, a simpler one, for himself, too, for after the wedding."

"What a great idea, and congratulations, Mira. Is this what Guz is talking to Nathaniel about?"

She nods. "Yes, this, and I think he's going to ask Taylor to be his best man."

"Really?" Alicia smiles. "He'll love that."

"Yes, and I have two favors to ask of you."

Alicia lifts an eyebrow. "OK, one?"

"We need to borrow Gracie, as Isaac insists that if we're going to do a wedding in front of the colony, which is what he wants to do, that we need a flower girl." Mira rolls her eyes a little.

"Of course, Mira. She'll get a new dress and get to be the center of attention for a bit. She'll be thrilled. But you said that he's the one who wants the big wedding. What do _you _want?" Alicia gives Mira a concerned look.

She sighs a little. "I'd prefer something smaller, but some people still have issues with us being here, the Sixers, I mean, and a big wedding involving Taylor and others will make it clear that we've been accepted by the people at the top."

"Understood." Alicia looks at her expectantly. "And two?"

"Right." Mira suddenly looks a little nervous. "The thing is, Isaac insists that I have to have a bridesmaid, a maid of honor, since he's having a best man."

"OK." Alicia is feeling a little confused.

"Would you do it?"

Alicia blinks again. "I'm sorry?"

Mira laughs softly. "Wash, would you be my matron of honor?"

Alicia says the first thing that comes to mind. "Do I have to wear a dress?"

Mira's laugh this time is loud and unrestrained, making Alicia huff in irritation. "I'm sorry, Wash, but you should've seen your face. It was pure horror. And yes, a dress would likely be slightly more appropriate than fatigues or cargoes."

Alicia gives her a hard look, her mind weighing her dislike of wearing skirts against feeling flattered that Mira would ask her. "Does it have to be all…froufy? And can it be a dark color?"

Mira chuckles some more. "Wash, do you really see me anywhere near something all light and, what did you call it? Froufy?"

"Good point." Alicia finally smiles a little.

"I've already talked to Claire in the market. She's going to make my dress. It's going to be dark brown, because that's what I like. Anything complimentary to that is fine by me – dark green, dark red. Just no black, Wash. And Claire will know what my dress will be like. Anything that works with that design is good." She looks thoughtful for a moment. "I actually like the dark green idea, if you don't object. It would be pretty on the Gracie Bug too, and Claire could make her dress and yours from the same fabric."

Alicia thinks about it for a moment. "Fine, I can live with that. But I guarantee you that the Bug will want froufy."

"Is that a yes?"

"OK, it's a yes. When will this be?" Alicia begrudgingly agrees.

Mira grins and says, "In six weeks, and thanks, Wash. You should know, too, that I'm not going to hug you. And I really don't want you to hug me. But I welcome Bug Hugs, anytime, anyplace."

Alicia grins in reply. "Thank God. And I'm sure the Bug will be happy to oblige."

A few hours later, Alicia is headed to the market to meet Nathaniel for lunch when she is waylaid by Carter. "Wash!"

She turns towards his voice and sees him hurrying towards her, wearing a look that's a strange combination of giddiness and anxiety. "Hey, Carter, what's up?"

He clearly can't hold in what must be causing the giddiness in his expression. "I asked Skye to marry me, and she said yes."

For what is now the third time today, Alicia blinks in surprise. "Damn, Carter. Did you ask Nathaniel first?"

He pales slightly. "No. I figured it would be safer to let Skye tell him when she asks him to give her away. He actually likes her, so if he sees her all happy, he'll be less likely to kill me."

Alicia smirks. "Chicken."

"Yes, but a _live _chicken." He hesitates. "I want to ask you a couple of favors."

She lifts an eyebrow. "Let me guess, the first is that you want to borrow my kid for flower girl duty?"

"How did you know that?" He looks confused.

"She's already been requested for Mira and Guz's wedding next month. She likes froufy dresses, and any color but dark green, because that's what she'll be wearing for the other wedding."

He snorts at that. "Froufy and no dark green. Check."

Knowing she needs to get going to meet Nathaniel, she prompts him, "You said a 'couple' of favors?"

"Right." If possible, he looks even more hesitant, highly unusual for Carter. "I need a best man."

"OK. What, do you need me to talk to someone for you?" It's her turn to look confused.

"Not exactly. I want it to be you."

She blinks in surprise for the fourth time in as many hours, and once again, the same words come out before she can stop them. "Do I have to wear a dress?"

A while later, Nathaniel finds a shell-shocked Alicia sitting at a small round table in the plaza of the market. He has a bag with him and a couple of bottles of water, she assumes their lunch, but she's just sitting there trying to wrap her head around the events of the last several hours.

He drops into the chair next to hers. "Alicia? Are you all right?"

She jumps a little at the sound of his voice. Yet again, Alicia speaks before her brain engages. "I have to wear a dress. _Twice_."

He'd been putting their lunch out on the table, the fruit salad she prefers from one vendor, his sandwich of some sort of dinosaur meat from another, and he pauses to look at her, an amused look on his face. "Come again?"

She rolls her eyes. "I just managed to agree to be Mira's matron of honor. I have to wear a dress for that. And, I can understand that. But then Carter asked me to be his best man, and they're going to make me wear a dress _again_. To be the best _man_. That doesn't even make sense!"

She takes a deep breath. "Seriously. A best man in a _dress_? I think Carter's just being a jerk because I once teased him that he's my _older _brother. He's been pissy about that forever, and now he's getting back at me."

Hearing a snort of laughter, she looks at Nathaniel, glaring at him. "What?"

"I admit it, the outrage on your face right now is pretty great."

Her glare goes just an iota icier, and he clearly sees that he's very close to getting into deep trouble. He holds his hands up in surrender. "I'm sorry. You know I love you, Alicia, but your ability to make things like hugs and dresses sound like crimes against humanity is pretty entertaining."

She shoots him another dirty look and pulls her salad closer to her, spearing a piece of melon. "Since you're not surprised that I mentioned being Carter's best man, I assume that Skye talked to you?"

"She did."

"And you're giving her away, then?"

"Begrudgingly, but yes."

She laughs at that. "I asked Carter if he asked your permission before proposing, and he admitted that he didn't because he thought you might kill him. He said he wanted Skye to tell you because you'd restrain yourself because of how happy she is. He also copped to being a chicken."

Nathaniel snorts. "He can't possibly think I'm going to make things that easy for him."

"That's Carter. Our little slightly-psychotic cock-eyed optimist." She can't help but smile at him. "When's the torture going to happen? Because you know I want to be there. Shannon will too."

"I'll keep you two posted. Wouldn't want you to miss it."

She grins. "OK. In exchange, I'll actually forgive you for laughing at me."

"Deal." He leans over and gives her a quick kiss.

They both work on their lunch, and after a few moments of companionable silence, Alicia says, "I take it Guz talked to you too."

"Yes. It's awfully flattering that he thinks that much of me. We need to be better about including them on the nights we cook with the Shannons."

"Good idea." She pauses to take another bite of her salad. "And did they tell you about the Bug?"

"What do you mean?" He looks puzzled.

"Let's just say we should start a business: Rent a Flower Girl. We'll clean up."

He laughs. "Ah. I take it her services have been requested by both couples?"

"They have. I've informed them that while my dresses must be simple, hers should be froufy."

"Good call. By the way, how exactly do you spell 'froufy?'" he smirks at her. She throws a piece of apple at him, but he just laughs. "So, Carter's best man?"

She smiles. "It was actually kind of nice, I admit it. He said that he really does think of me like his sister, and that nobody else made sense as his best man, that there just wasn't anyone he'd rather have stand up for him."

"That's how he convinced you about the dress, right?" He gives her a sly grin.

She's back to glaring at him. "Shut up."

He laughs, leaning over, putting a hand into her hair and kissing her before she can pull away. She settles for swatting at his arm when he releases her, making him laugh even more. She rolls her eyes and pushes her chair back, intending to head back to command. Instead, he grabs her hand and pulls her towards him, making her gasp as she lands unceremoniously in his lap.

"Nathaniel!" Still glaring, she swats at his arm again, now wrapped tight around her. "We're in the middle of the market!"

"That we are." He gives her another smile, this one slightly unsure, and hugs her to him. "I'm just kidding with you. You know that, right? Carter kind of worships you. It doesn't surprise me at all that you're the person he wants there for him."

Her eyes soften, and she leans forward to press her forehead to his. "I know, and that's why I said yes. He did say that I can go sexy with my dress, though. And that it can be black. So, right now, I like him a little better than Mira, who's making me wear green and says my dress has to compliment hers."

"Sexy and black? I have to agree. I'm liking Carter more right now too, which is kind of a new thing for me." He pauses. "I'm sure he'll do something stupid again soon, and Mira will retake the lead."

She laughs and drops a quick kiss to his lips. "Now let me up. I actually have work to do."

"Yes, ma'am." He gives her a mock salute. She considers returning it with one finger in particular, but given the public location, she just sticks her tongue out at him instead. As she walks away, she can hear him laughing again, and she can't help but smile.

Her smile is short-lived, though, as Elisabeth and Maddy descend on her. They grab her hands and drag her towards the infirmary. "Elisabeth, Maddy, what the hell is going on?"

Maddy looks gleeful. "We have to help you start planning the shower!"

"Shower?" This day just keeps getting weirder and weirder.

Elisabeth grins knowingly, and Alicia decides that people are just enjoying this all way too much. "Yes, Alicia. The shower. You're Mira's matron of honor, and since she has no family here, I'd say that the responsibility of throwing her shower falls to you."

"But…" Alicia tries to protest, but she has no idea what to say.

"But nothing," Elisabeth says emphatically, "Now come on. We have planning to do. How do you feel about petit fours?"

Wilting in defeat, Alicia lets Elisabeth and Maddy drag her along. She thinks to herself that she just needs a plan, like any good military woman. Surgical strikes. Get things done and move on. She's sure that will work. Definitely. No question.

She sighs. She's so damned screwed.


	2. Chapter 2

So, here's more fluff, with a little less-fluffy backstory, and then a little cavity-inducing stuff at the end. This one is slightly more serious than chapter 1, but with chapter 3 (The Bachelorette Party), we'll be back to more fun!

Thanks for the reviews thus far! They're all very much appreciated!

Note, this is set in the context of my other stories, but definitely not necessary to read those for this to make sense – just be aware that in my context now, Wash and Taylor are married and have a little girl named Gracie, and the Sixers have come back to Terra Nova.

**Disclaimer is as usual – no profit, not mine (except Gracie, of course), just borrowing.**

_"The market for wedding dresses is more often than not led by emotion and aspiration rather than rational decisions and financial constraints." - Claire Birks_

_The Dresses, Five-and-a-Half Weeks to Wedding #1_

Alicia sighs, knowing that this is going to be a long day. She, Skye, Deborah Tate, Mira, Tasha, Maddy, Elisabeth and Gracie, along with two of the seamstresses from the market, are crowded into Alicia and Nathaniel's house.

Mira and Skye talked about it, and they decided that just having a "dress day" was the easiest thing to do in order to expedite the creation of the dresses for both of the weddings, which will be taking place two weeks apart, first Mira and Guz's wedding, then Skye and Carter's two weekends later.

So, there are now piles of fabric everywhere. On one side of the room, there is a mound of earth tone fabrics, browns and greens, for Mira's wedding. On the other side of the room, there are lighter colors, cream for Skye's dress and pinks and purples for Tasha, the maid of honor, and Gracie.

Leaned against the wall near the other fabrics for Skye's wedding is a bolt of black jersey, Alicia's favorite thing in the room. At least one good thing will come of all of this wedding frippery – a slinky, sexy black dress. If she has to own more than one dress, at least one of them will be something she doesn't mind wearing. Carter's even letting her wear heels, and she has one killer pair, even though they'll make her more than four inches taller than him. He says it will be the comic relief.

She watches the women in her living room from a vantage point in the kitchen, where she's putting together some finger food. As she observes them, her mind wanders to the root cause of her dislike of wearing dresses.

One thing very few people know, at least very few people outside of Nathaniel and Guz, is that she had to go to a lot of meet and greet cocktail parties while they were planning the colony. Since their team represented what was touted as the "last great hope for the human race," they had to be put on display for the fat cats back in their time.

Part of that display included dress uniforms for Nathaniel and Guz. Much to her dismay, however, as the highest ranking female going and the second-in-command of the expedition, she was expected to dress not in her dress uniform, but in cocktail or formal attire, fancy dresses and shoes and all that went with them. Even in the 2140s, that kind of latent sexism still existed.

She can clearly remember when Nathaniel came to her to tell her what was expected of her. He looked livid at the situation. Livid was exactly what he was, but there was nothing he could do about it. He certainly tried, though; Guz told her how Nathaniel nearly lost it over the issue with the generals and civilians in charge of the future side of the project.

In the end, the series of dog and pony shows made Alicia highly uncomfortable, and it was when she developed her aversion to wearing dresses. The dresses left her feeling vulnerable. She had to play nice at the parties, as a lot of their funding and support depended on them, something that was made abundantly clear to her by the Powers that Be.

At the very first party, though, a drunken politician cornered her. The man was quite enamored with her. Despite his wife speaking with some other politicians' wives just across the room, he was very clear about how hot he thought she was and what he wanted to do to her, telling her so after trapping her with his body and sliding one hand down the back of her dress to grab her ass.

She still cringes at the memory. She froze like a proverbial deer in headlights. In enemy territory, bullets flying by and explosions all around, she knew what to do. But that political world was entirely foreign to her, the orphan girl who grew up outside the domes, completely on her own from fourteen until joining the military at eighteen. She had no idea what to do about being groped by a politician at a party meant to help them raise more funding.

As luck would have it, Nathaniel guessed that the politicians and possibly even the military might act inappropriately towards his beautiful (his word, one she'd scoffed at) younger lieutenant. He stayed close to her the whole night, and he heard what the politician said to her. Before she even realized what was happening, he grabbed the politician's arm – not accidentally, she was sure, the arm that was down the back of her dress – and he twisted it painfully behind the man's back.

Nathaniel leaned down and said something in the politician's ear. The man paled and scurried away like a frightened rabbit. When he turned back to her, his expression was one of concern. He immediately walked over to her, his eyes clearly asking her if she wanted to go. Shaken, she nodded, and he just placed a protective hand on her lower back and guided her through the crowd towards the door. One of the lead politicians tried to stop them from leaving, protested that they still had people to meet.

Nathaniel's reaction was to get right in his face and growl, "Your good friend Senator Morrison just assaulted my lieutenant. If you have an issue with our leaving early, you take it up with him. Next party, you make sure your boys understand that Wash could kill any one of them with one arm tied behind her back, but she was just too polite and cares too much about the expedition to embarrass them. They damn well better respect her from now on. If they don't, not only will they have to answer to her, they'll have to answer to _me._ And answering to me will entail my ripping their heads off with my bare hands _after_ I turn Wash loose to kick their asses from here to next week. Am I clear, _Sir_?"

After that night, there were several more parties, but no one ever stepped out of line again. Of course, while that might've been due to the warning, it could just as easily have been due to the fact that Nathaniel always had one protective, possessive hand on her lower back for the duration of every party they attended from there on out, once again his words, "Rumors and frat regs be damned." The fiercely independent part of her chafed against his hovering, but years later she realized that was when her familial, platonic love for him began to turn into something deeper and something decidedly less than platonic.

When they left the last party, only days before he would step through the portal and be trapped here alone for 118 days, he promised her that as far as he was concerned, she never had to wear a dress ever again if she didn't want to. He has lived up to that promise. Mira and Guz's wedding in five weeks will mark the first time she'll wear a dress since that last party.

But for some reason or another, maybe because of the gleam in Nathaniel's eye when he looked at her legs – when he clearly thought she wasn't aware that he was watching her – when she was wearing them, she kept the black spike heels she'd worn to most of those parties. They'd been shoved in one of the boxes of her things sent through with the third pilgrimage, not seeing the light of day. She's pretty sure Nathaniel doesn't even realize that she still has them.

She feels a tug at her leg, drawing her back to the present. She looks down to see Gracie standing there looking expectant. "Mama make snacks for luh-adies? Cookies too?"

Alicia has to grin at Gracie's over-pronunciation of the "L" sound, and she bends down and scoops her up to settle on her hip. "Sorry, Bug, you caught me daydreaming." Gracie giggles, and Alicia leans down a little to rub her nose to Gracie's, making her giggle again. "Do you want to help me?"

"Yes! I help!"

Alicia puts Gracie down and hands her the plate of cookies to take into the living room. "Two hands, and go slow."

"'K, Mama!" Alicia smiles, laughing quietly as she watches Gracie put a death grip on the plate and toddle carefully into the living room.

Alicia picks up the other plates of fruit, cheese and crackers and carries them into the living room as well.

"Wash!" Mira grins at her. "You done hiding?"

Alicia lifts an eyebrow at her. "Hey, if you guys aren't hungry, I can just take this stuff back to the kitchen." She pretends to turn to go, and a protest rises from the other women. She turns back, smirking, and puts the two plates on the table.

The women descend on the plates like locusts, and Gracie looks at Alicia, clearly asking permission. Alicia knows what she wants. "One cookie, Bug. One."

Gracie grins and grabs one of the cookies and a small napkin. She then looks at the ladies, and with a look at the other women worthy of Alicia herself, she does her best to roll her little eyes before toddling over to her Gracie-sized chair, made for her by none other than Carter. She drops into it and nibbles on the edge of her cookie, watching the women devouring the food with a look that appears to be a cross between fascination, confusion and a small amount of fear.

Mira comes over to Alicia, her eyes on Gracie. "Damn, Wash, most of the time she seems to be almost all Taylor. Then, a moment comes when she is literally all you."

Alicia chuckles. "I don't know. I think even Nathaniel would stay on the sidelines of that pack."

"True. He's pretty good at picking his battles, at least most of the time." Mira smirks.

"Indeed."

"So, are you going to share your issue with dresses? Isaac swears that you used to wear them." Mira looks at her, a questioning expression on her face.

Alicia shrugs. "Remind him about the endless parties pre-expedition, and then tell him to think about what happened at the very first one," Alicia knows he heard what happened then, because Nathaniel told him so Guz would be his back up should he and Alicia get separated at a party, "He'll probably be able to sort it out from there."

Mira gives her a funny look, but she doesn't press further. They've now known each other long enough now to know when the other won't be any more forthcoming. "Just tell me this, Wash. If you won't wear a dress, what the hell did you wear to get married to Taylor?"

Alicia just motions to what she's wearing right now, a fitted black t-shirt, dog tags, camo fatigues and combat boots. Mira shakes her head, laughing. "Of course. How silly of me." She clears her throat. "Claire," Mira says, referring to one of the seamstresses, "Has ideas for your dress and Gracie's."

"Please tell me we aren't going to match."

"Not exactly," Mira smirks, "Yours won't have as many bows."

"If mine has even _one _bow, you can recruit a new Matron of Honor. But I swear I'll warn all the candidates about the bows." Alicia glares at Mira, who just laughs.

"OK, OK. No bows. As if Claire, the woman who made you maternity fatigues, would be crazy enough to try to put you in bows. Seriously, the designs are similar, but yours is bow-free and other types of frouf-free. And yours will be a-line while the Bug's has a full, fluffy skirt. Is that OK?"

Alicia has to laugh, because Mira actually sounds a little worried. She decides to mess with her just a little. "Length?"

"Mid-calf."

"What? No! Completely unacceptable!"

Mira looks up in alarm, clearly about to try to placate Wash. Alicia can't hide her smirk, and Mira rolls her eyes. "God, you're as bad as Carter. You two really do act like siblings. And Shannon, too. You're the baby, Shannon's the long-suffering oldest brother, and Carter is one hundred percent the middle child."

"That's perfect." Alicia laughs out loud.

"It wasn't a compliment, you know."

"Believe me, I know." Alicia grins. "But at least I get to be the baby."

Mira just snorts at that, and she beckons Claire over to them. Claire is doing the dresses for Mira's wedding, and she's also doing Alicia's dress for Skye and Carter's, something Alicia insisted on. She trusts Claire to let her look good and be comfortable at the same time. Elisabeth follows Claire, and the four of them go to the kitchen table to talk more about the dresses.

After a while, Alicia, who can only take so much girl time without getting bored, looks up and notices that Gracie isn't in her chair anymore. She looks around, and Maddy must see her doing it, because she points down the hall towards the bedrooms. Alicia nods her thanks, and then she turns to Mira, Elisabeth and Claire. "Ladies, I'm going to go check on Gracie. It's her nap time."

They all nod and wave her off. She's already found out that her dress will be the previously discussed dark green, a mostly-soft, flowy fabric. The top of it will be fitted and sleeveless with almost a boat-neck neckline, just slightly scooped out in the back and the skirt will be mid-calf and a-line, as Mira said. Gracie's dress will have the same top, but it will have a wide, light green sash that ties in a bow at the back, and a full, floaty skirt. She and Claire have also agreed to meet later this week to talk about her dress for the other wedding.

She gets up and heads down the hall in search of Gracie, grateful to have an excuse to escape the chattering women. She does like having female friends, but sometimes she finds it exhausting. Peering into Gracie's room, she's not entirely surprised to find it empty. Turning, Alicia heads to hers and Nathaniel's bedroom, and she smiles when she finds Gracie there, nestled into their pillows on the bed, stuffed dinosaur tucked under her arm.

The only thing that surprises her is the fact that Gracie is still awake. She looks up at Alicia and says, "Mama, it's woud out there."

Alicia laughs softly and pushes the door mostly closed before crossing the room and sitting next to Gracie on the bed. "I know, Bug. It's very loud out there." She runs a hand through Gracie's wavy black hair.

"Mama stay with Gwacie?" Alicia nods and smiles, amused by the way Gracie's Rs and Ls regress when she's sleepy.

She swings her legs up onto the bed and curls up next to Gracie, pulling the little girl tight to her. "Sleep, little Bug."

"Tell me about when you mawwied Daddy, Mama."

Alicia smiles a bemused smile. "Again, Bug?"

"Again, pwease, Mama."

Ever since the weddings were announced and planning started, Gracie has been obsessed with hearing about Alicia and Nathaniel's wedding. Since it had been secret, only Malcolm there to marry them and Reynolds and Reilly to witness, the wedding story was pretty short and boring.

She knows what Gracie really wants to hear about. "Well, Bug, after your Uncle Malcolm married us, we went home to Mama's old house. Mama made dinner with Daddy's help."

Gracie sleepily interjects, "But just with things he no have to cook."

"You're right there, little Bug," Alicia grins, loving that Gracie also now loves to tease Nathaniel about his decided lack of culinary skills, "And after dinner we sat on the sofa until…"

Gracie sighs happily, "Daddy asked you to dance."

Alicia smooths Gracie's hair back again, and she looks up as she hears the door open. She smiles when she sees Nathaniel standing there. She beckons him over with a movement of her head and goes on, "That's right, Bug, Daddy asked me to dance."

Nathaniel smiles at them as he gets to the bed. He climbs up on the other side of Gracie, dropping a kiss to her forehead.

Alicia finishes, "And we turned on some soft music, and we danced almost all night, just us in our own little world."

A now mostly-asleep Gracie mumbles, "Was perfect," and she moves slightly away from Alicia to snuggle into Nathaniel's chest.

Alicia follows her, and she and Nathaniel surround Gracie like two watchful guardians. Nathaniel reaches a hand out to Alicia with a smile. Their hands join, fingers weaving together, and they come to rest over Gracie and her stuffed dinosaur.

As Gracie starts to make a soft, snuffling sound in her sleep, Nathaniel briefly lifts their joined hands to drop a kiss on Alicia's knuckles. He murmurs, "Still is."

At that, Alicia can't help but give him a soft smile. He smiles back, and they both relax into the pillows, listening to the sounds of the women out in their living room as Gracie sleeps soundly between them.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: **You know Wash would throw one heck of a party. You just KNOW it.

Note, this is set in the context of my other stories, but definitely not necessary to read those for this to make sense – just be aware that in my context now, Wash and Taylor are married and have a little girl named Gracie, and the Sixers have come back to Terra Nova.

**Disclaimer is as usual – no profit, not mine (except Gracie, of course), just borrowing.**

_"Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut." - Ernest Hemingway_

_The Bachelorette Party and the Aftermath, Four Weeks to Wedding #1_

"I cannot believe I somehow ended up being the hostess for Mira's shower," Elisabeth grumbles under her breath as they make their way to Boylan's bar. Maddy follows close behind them, looking a little excited and a little frightened. All of them are carrying large shopping-type bags.

Alicia just laughs and shoots Elisabeth a shit-eating grin. Elisabeth responds with an obscene gesture that makes Maddy blush and say, "Mom!"

They're going to Boylan's in order to set everything up for Mira's bachelorette party. Of course, Mira refuses to call it that, saying it's silly. She just calls it the Night Out. And to prove it's not just a bachelorette party, she made Alicia invite Carter. Alicia didn't really mind that, though. It's not like Alicia won't be at Carter's – she's actually hosting his too.

That was the deal they worked out – Alicia would host Mira's "Night Out" as opposed to her shower. It took about ten minutes with Elisabeth and Maddy for them to realize that Alicia was helpless with anything excessively girly, and wedding and baby showers are pretty much the girliest things any of them can think of.

Mira walked in on that conversation, hearing Elisabeth giving Alicia a good-natured hard time about her complete ignorance of how to throw a shower. With what Alicia would swear was a predatory gleam in her eye, Mira basically cornered Elisabeth into doing the shower. It was actually highly entertaining – Mira understood one thing, the only thing she needed to know: Elisabeth is far too polite to say no to a direct request.

So, Alicia got to handle something far more in her own element: a party involving booze and bar snacks. Alicia did insist on slightly better fare than Boylan usually has, so they're bringing in their own food, hence the shopping bags. Boylan has expanded his bar, so they'll be occupying a private area at the back, where Reynolds and Dunham will be on duty, keeping the regular bar patrons out of the decent food.

Reynolds in particular was an easy sell, as Alicia knew he would be. He's almost painfully protective of his still very naïve young wife. This way, he'll be able to keep an eye on Maddy while also having an official reason for being there.

As for Carter, he claims that the only reason he agreed to attend was to see if Alicia can throw a decent party. Mira and Alicia know that's bullshit, because they were both there when Alicia invited him. He looked positively chuffed to be asked before he hastily assumed a poker face and pretended to be nonchalant about it. He blew the nonchalance, though, when he gave Mira a big hug before he left.

They arrive at Boylan's and haul their bags down the stairs into the bar. Reynolds and Dunham are already there, and they step up to help Elisabeth and Maddy with their bags. They know better than to try to help Alicia. She grins at the way they both seem to consider it but then step away from her and head into the back of the bar.

She laughs and rolls her eyes when she gets to the area where their party will be, because Carter is already there, drink in hand. "Haven't you ever heard of being fashionably late, Carter?"

He raises his glass in a sort of salute to her. "Figured I needed to get a head start on you ladies. Got to give you something to try to keep up with."

Alicia snorts out a laugh when she hears Reynolds cough to cover it up when he says, "Moron."

Carter isn't fooled, though. "What was that, Corporal Reynolds?" He raises an eyebrow.

Reynolds looks at Alicia, who gives him a go ahead sign with her hand before going to help Elisabeth and Maddy put the food out. Reynolds smirks at Carter. "You're a moron if you think the lieutenant needs you to give her a head start on anything. But good luck, Carter." As he walks away, joining them setting up the food, Alicia grins again when she hears Reynolds mutter, "You're gonna need it."

Two hours later, the party is in full swing. It's an interesting and varied group of attendees, including Deborah Tate – who has long since buried the hatchet with Mira, Skye – who appears annoyed that both her mother _and _fiancé are present, Reilly, Tasha, several female former Sixers and several of the female vendors from the market.

Alicia has a pleasant buzz on, but she's far from intoxicated. Poor Carter is a little unsteady on his feet, but he's trying to hide it as he talks to Mira and some of the other former Sixers. She knows that she's had at least as many drinks as Carter.

She guesses that he thinks her tolerance never recovered after having Gracie; the opposite is true. It might even be better than it used to be. What he doesn't know is that spending any free time with Elisabeth will improve anyone's tolerance. Elisabeth would surprise most in the colony with her love of alcoholic beverages and her rather staggering tolerance for their consumption.

If Alicia is right, Elisabeth, also pretty rock-steady on her feet, is within a drink of Alicia and Carter. Alicia has been working the room for most of the evening, doing her best to play her role as hostess well. As far as she can tell, everyone is having a good time. Even Maddy, who is often reticent in this kind of social environment, is pretty loose and giggly, prompting Reynolds to keep bringing her food – which she doesn't eat – and stand nearby like a worried mother hen.

She can almost hear him fretting when she sidles up to him, swirling her sixth cocktail in her hand. "Just hold her hair back when she's puking later, Reynolds. She'll think you're the most wonderful guy in the world."

He jumps slightly at the sound of her voice. He frowns briefly before rolling his eyes and chuckling. "You're corrupting my wife, Wash."

She laughs, then looks up to see Maddy approaching Reynolds with a rather determined look on her face. If Alicia had to call it, she'd say Maddy's expression is downright feral. The young woman gets to Reynolds and whispers something in his ear that makes him blush bright red. She then plants a very heated, deep kiss on his lips and says, "I can't wait to get you home tonight," before swatting him on the butt and walking back over to the now laughing group she's been with all night, which includes Reilly, Skye and Tasha.

Reynolds just stands there blinking, cheeks burning. Alicia laughs again. "Mark?" He looks at her, clearly dazed. She gives him a knowing smile. "You're welcome." Still blushing, he swallows hard and just gives her a nod and a small smile. "Go get your wife, kid. If there was ever an invitation to be handsy with your wife in public, that was it. Consider yourself off duty for the night."

This time, his smile is wide, though the blush turns even deeper. "Thanks, Wash." He takes off for Maddy's side, and a moment later, Alicia has to smile when she hears Maddy squeal as Reynolds wraps his arms around her from behind.

"Wash!" She turns towards the voice yelling her name across the bar. "Get your ass over here!"

Alicia lifts an eyebrow at Carter, but she still walks over to where he sits with Mira, Elisabeth, Deborah and several of the female former Sixers. Though older, throughout the night, their area of the bar has been the rowdiest. Grabbing another cocktail from the waitress, Alicia walks over to the noisy group. "Can I help you, Carter?"

Mira answers before he can. "Carter has a challenge to issue, Wash."

Her eyebrow arches even higher. "Really? Do tell, Carter." She takes another sip of her drink.

He glares blearily at Mira. "It's not a _challenge_, Wash, I just made a statement."

Mira snorts and Elisabeth says, "A _challenging _statement."

Alicia has to laugh, because the look on Carter's face is now near comically annoyed. "This I have to hear. Carter?"

He huffs in irritation, clearly pretty drunk. "I just said I can take you."

"I'm sorry?" Alicia gets a bemused half-smile on her face.

"I said _I can take you_." He looks at her like it's the most elementary thing in the world.

"Are you serious, Carter?"

"Of course!" His face is downright smug. "I've beaten you before, and now you've had a kid."

Alicia's smile turns predatory, and Mira says, "Carter, shut up."

Elisabeth must also notice the gleam in her eye, because she says, "Alicia, he's drunk. Ignore him."

What no one else noticed was Reilly and Dunham edging closer. Reilly laughs, catching everyone's attention. "Carter, you actually think you can take the lieutenant?"

Dunham is laughing too. "And Carter, the only time you 'beat' her was the day she and I were captured, and _you _didn't beat her. She only lost because Mira hit her in the face with the butt of a rifle."

Alicia rolls her eyes and deadpans, "Thanks for the reminder, Dunham." Mira chuckles at that while Elisabeth just shakes her head.

Dunham looks a little abashed, and he smiles sheepishly. "Sorry, ma'am."

"Hey, talking here!" Carter wobbles a little as he stands up to face Alicia, clearly irritated that the focus is off of him. "So, you need your boys to defend you, Washington? Or should I call you Mrs. Taylor?"

Alicia crosses her arms across her chest, not sure if she should be amused or pissed off by this. Her buzz is getting stronger by the moment, and while her brain says to just be amused, her pride is pissed. She decides to listen to both. She laughs, but it's an evil laugh, and she sees Elisabeth drop her face into her hands, knowing what's coming. "You can call me whatever you want, Carter. And you can meet me in the sparring ring at ten hundred hours tomorrow morning."

"Shit," Mira mutters.

But Carter is either too drunk or too blind to see that this is not a good thing for him. "I'll be there, Little Sister."

"Can't wait, Big Brother. But you might want to go home and sleep it off now. It won't be any fun to beat you up if you're puking."

Dunham's and Reilly's eyes have been getting bigger and bigger throughout the exchange, and the minute the time and place are agreed to, they scurry away. Elisabeth looks at Alicia with a confused expression on her face. "Where are they going?"

Alicia laughs again. "To get the word out and to set up the betting pool."

Carter blinks. "What?"

"Hope you like sparring with an audience, Carter, because you're going to have one when I kick your ass tomorrow." Alicia pats him on the head and shoots him a grin before grabbing another drink and parking herself in a chair in the midst of Deborah, Elisabeth and Mira, who are all laughing loudly by now.

At that moment, an outraged looking Skye storms up. "Carter, what did you do?"

With that, Carter looks more than a little concerned, and Alicia joins in the laughter with the others. Skye begins to drag Carter away, fussing at him as they go, and Alicia calls after them, "Enjoy your moment of clarity, Carter, and I'll see you in the morning. Wear something dark so the bloodstains won't show too bad!"

Elisabeth swats Alicia on the arm, but Mira is all but doubled over laughing. She reaches for her comm, and a moment later, they hear her say, "Isaac, we have to be at the sparring ring at 10 am tomorrow. Trust me. We're not going to want to miss this."

A couple of hours later, Alicia gets home, slightly tipsy but still not drunk. For her, it's always been about balancing liquor, water and food consumption. She actually has a bottle of water in hand, almost completely gone. It wouldn't do to be dehydrated for her little set-to with Carter in the morning.

As she closes and locks the front door, a voice from behind her makes her jump. "So, really, Alicia? You're fighting Carter tomorrow morning?"

She turns and gives him a sheepish grin. "He started it." Nathaniel crosses his arms across his chest and gives her a skeptical look. She mirrors his pose. "He _did_. He told Mira, the other former Sixer women, Deborah _and _Elisabeth that he could take me. And when I confronted him on it, he said he'd beaten me before and now I've had a kid, so he could definitely take me."

Nathaniel whistles. "He said that? Seriously?" At her nod, he says, "Damn, I knew the boy was crazy, but I never thought he was stupid until now. And when the hell did he beat you?"

She huffs out a breath and gets a little outraged. "He didn't! He was talking about when Dunham and I got taken! _He _didn't beat me that day! Mira did, with the butt of a damned rifle!"

Instead of responding, he just grins and steps forward, kissing her hard and pressing her back into the door with his body, hands coming to rest flat against the door on either side of her head. Surprised, her own hands come up and grip his biceps for a moment before sliding upwards to thread into his short hair as the kiss becomes deeper and more heated. After a moment, without breaking the kiss, she hooks a leg over his hip to pull his body completely flush with hers.

When the need for air becomes too great, she pulls her head back slightly, breathing hard. He bumps her nose with his and pulls back just enough to press his forehead to hers. After taking a moment to catch his breath, he smirks. "You seemed surprised, but you should know by now that, to me, you pissed off? Incredibly hot."

She laughs softly as her hands slide down to scratch lightly at his neck. "Sorry, must be all the booze," she pauses and looks up at him through her eyelashes before leaning forward to nip at his neck. "Should we take this to our bedroom?"

He groans a little. "Damn."

She moves back to where she can look at his face. "Damn?"

"We can't take this to our bedroom."

"Why," she starts to ask, then it dawns on her. She drops her head to his shoulder in defeat. "You let Gracie go to sleep in our bed, didn't you?"

"You have no idea how much I'm regretting that decision right now."

She feels evidence of his regret pressing against her and she smirks at him. "Oh, I don't know, I think I might at least have a vague idea." She uses her leg, still hooked over his hip, to help her grind against him a little.

He glares at her. "You are an evil, evil woman."

She laughs. "Maybe. But if we're going to do this, it needs to be soon, because I need to be well rested to kick Carter's ass in the morning."

He shoots her a questioning look. "How exactly are we going to do this? The sofa seems like a bad idea with Gracie in the house. No door to close."

"Nathaniel, shower. Now." She unhooks her leg from his hip and starts towards the bathroom. When she realizes that he isn't following her, without turning around she looks back over her shoulder to see him watching her walk away, a positively lecherous look on his face. She can't help but grin at him. "Are you joining me, or do I have to make it a cold shower?"

He covers the space between them in almost record time. When he gets right behind her, he grips her hips and starts walking her towards the bathroom. As he moves her ponytail out of the way to get access to her neck, he murmurs, "Lead on. Would hate to subject you to the torture of a cold shower, Lieutenant."

She laughs as they get to the bathroom. "Well, you know, there's just nothing sexier than a selfless leader, willing to take one for the team."

**WT**WT**WT**

The next morning, after Nathaniel took pity on her and let her sleep in instead of doing the morning patrol, Alicia climbs out of bed at about 9 a.m. As she looks at herself in the bathroom mirror, she has to smirk at the small hickey she now has just beneath her right collarbone. Even after ten years together, he still really likes to mark her now and then.

Since she always retaliates, it has become something of a game with them. Just like her, he's currently sporting a new hickey, his just below his ribcage.

After drying her hair, she slips on her favorite sports bra and comfortable training clothes. Outside the bathroom, she hears a knock at the door and the sound of Deborah Tate's voice. Alicia realizes that Nathaniel must have called her to babysit – she's not surprised. She knew Nathaniel would find someone to watch Gracie so he could come to Alicia's little face off with Carter.

A few minutes later, with thank you to Deborah and a big hug given to Gracie, Alicia and Nathaniel head for the training ring. It's only 9:30; they want to get there a little early to give Alicia some time to warm up. It's pretty quiet in the gym when they arrive, so, after stretching for a bit, Nathaniel holds the bag for her to get loose.

Fifteen minutes later, people are starting to arrive, more than even Alicia anticipated. She stays focused, now kicking the bag to warm up her legs. As she delivers a smooth roundhouse to the bag, a high, clean shot that makes Nathaniel mutter, "That's my girl," Alicia hears Skye's voice.

"Lieutenant!" Alicia stops working the bag to turn and face the young woman as she approaches, Carter close behind her. He's wearing training clothes like Alicia's, but he looks a little nervous, whereas Alicia looks completely relaxed.

Nathaniel hands Alicia a towel. "Hey, Skye. What's up?" Alicia has to work hard to swallow her smile.

Skye looks over her shoulder at her fiancé, shooting him a glare. It's pretty clear that he's been getting that look since last night, if his face is anything to go by. She then turns back to Alicia. "Please, ma'am, just not the face."

"Skye!" Carter protests, "How about a little loyalty, babe?"

She rounds on him. "I'm loyal, Carter, but I'm not an idiot." She once again turns back to Alicia. "We have pictures to take, so I'd prefer you not break his face. The odds on him are long, but my mother didn't raise a fool. My money's on you, Lieutenant. So, feel free to kick his ass, but just try to keep the marks to his face to a minimum if you can."

Alicia laughs out loud as Carter starts to splutter. "You bet on _Wash_, Skye? What the hell?"

Skye rolls her eyes. "Like I said, Carter: Loyal, but not an idiot."

Carter looks at Nathaniel. "And you're not pissed at her for this?"

Nathaniel chuckles and hugs Skye to his side. "Son, you asked this young lady to marry you without asking my permission first. I was going to find a way to torture you, but this? My lovely wife kicking your ass in front of the better part of the colony? This is far better than anything I could've dreamed up."

Carter sighs, clearly resigned. "Wash, shall we?" He motions towards the sparring area, now surrounded by spectators.

Alicia leans up and pecks Nathaniel on the cheek, and she turns to Sky and says, "I'll see what I can do to limit blows to either below the neck or to the back of his head."

"Thanks, Lieutenant," Skye chirps back, completely ignoring Carter now.

Alicia nods, and then she follows Carter to the ring. A cheer goes up when she enters. Alicia is surprised at who all is there. Not just her soldiers, but Maddy, Malcolm, Shannon and Elisabeth all stand nearby. Guz is playing ref, and within moments of him telling them to go, Alicia has popped Carter across the back with a blow from her right arm and swept his feet out from under him using her right leg.

As she helps him up, he mutters, "Two out of three."

Over the next fifteen minutes or so, they fall into a rhythm, but Alicia still takes him down two more times. After he mutters, "Four out of seven," Skye shakes her head at him. Alicia has a feeling that this will be something of a last hurrah for Carter. He's weaving on his feet, and Alicia can tell that it will only take a couple of well-placed hits to take him out for a bit.

This time, though, as they face off, she can tell that he's being more calculated, trying to read her movements. Sadly for Carter, it's really too little, too late. He does get in a shot or two, the worst one coming when he moves forward and then feints back, making Alicia chase him. When she does, he's able to get in a solid pop to her arm and then sweep her feet, dropping her to her back.

Carter must think he has her down this time, because he approaches immediately. But as he bends towards her, she pulls her knees up then kicks her legs out and jumps to her feet in one fluid motion. Carter looks surprised, but he recovers quickly, getting in another kick at her legs. He's chasing her again, moving faster than he has since they began.

She's having to duck swing after swing, and at one moment, she actually thinks that Carter may manage to take a round from her. But then he drops his shoulder in a way that tells her exactly when he's about to take a shot at her head. With a muttered, "Sorry, Skye," she spins and pops her elbow to his jaw, dropping him like a ton of bricks.

The area, which had been loud with cheers throughout their fight, goes quiet for a moment. She turns and resumes a defensive stance, finally slightly winded. Guz calls the round for Alicia, her fourth win out of four, and she steps towards Carter, who is flat on his back. She can see that he looks a little dazed. "You still with us, Carter?"

He groans and then replies, "Yes, but I'm staying down here for a while, at least until you promise to stop hitting me."

At that, a laugh roars up from the gathered crowd, and Alicia holds out her hand to Carter. "I promise to stop hitting you, Big Brother."

He takes her hand and lets her haul him to his feet. "Thanks, Little Sister." He wobbles briefly when he's upright, blood now trickling from one corner of his mouth.

They stand there looking at each other until she finally grins and says, "Say it, Carter." The crowd goes quiet again.

He snorts but replies, "I can't take you, Wash." The crowd bursts out in sound again, this time cheers. Alicia sees Shannon high-five Maddy. Skye rushes over and starts fussing over Carter, while Nathaniel approaches Alicia.

From behind, Nathaniel wraps a gentle arm around Alicia's shoulders, and he draws her to him, her back pressed against his front. "You done having my wife kick your ass, Carter?"

Carter, to his credit, just nods and laughs, and he turns to leave with Skye. Alicia can't resist calling after him. "Carter!" He turns back. "When I throw your bachelor party next week, can you please promise me that you won't start telling people that you can take Nathaniel? Because I don't think he'll goes as easy on you as I did."

He glares at her. "Bite me, Wash."

She just laughs at that, waving as he turns again to walk away. She calls after him one more time. "Love you too, Carter."

That earns her a hug and a laugh from Nathaniel. "Home, my badass wife?"

She chuckles. "Sounds like a plan. I promised the Bug I'd help her make cookies today."

"Excellent," he says, leading them towards home, "Promise me you won't kick _my _ass if I try to steal one, OK?"

"I'll think about it."

"Hell, that's better than I was expecting. Deal."

They're still laughing when they get home.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: **Time for the shower - this one will be fun here and there, but it's going to get serious about something too, something I just couldn't ignore.

Note, this is set in the context of my other stories, but definitely not necessary to read those for this to make sense – just be aware that in my context now, Wash and Taylor are married and have a little girl named Gracie, and the Sixers have come back to Terra Nova.

**Disclaimer is as usual – no profit, not mine (except Gracie, of course), just borrowing.**

"_There are as many nights as days, and the one is just as long as the other in the year's course. Even a happy life cannot be without a measure of darkness, and the word 'happy' would lose its meaning if it were not balanced by sadness." - Carl Jung _

_Three Weeks to Wedding #1 - The Showers and the People Who Aren't There_

Alicia and Gracie are heading towards the plaza, Gracie's hand held firmly in Alicia's, going to the shower for Skye. In her other hand, she carries their shower gift. The week before, they attended Mira's shower, a small affair thrown by Elisabeth and attended by Mira's closest friends in the colony. Out of sheer curiosity, or maybe out of deference to Guz, there were many who probably would've attended if asked, but Mira hadn't felt comfortable with that.

Alicia can't blame her. Odd as it might sound, these days, she's more grateful than most could imagine that her wedding to Nathaniel had been, by necessity, such a secret. Back then, prior to the eleventh pilgrimage and the subsequent Phoenix Group mess, they'd had Hope Plaza scrutinizing them.

They'd married to strengthen their position with Hope Plaza – their thinking had been that if their relationship came to light, they'd have a better argument if they were married. Of course, they'd likely also be able to point to the fact that they'd already been in an intimate relationship for seven years when they finally swapped vows and to the fact that their relationship had never influenced their leadership of the colony.

Ironically, the only time Nathaniel professionally made an emotional decision where she was concerned, leaving her behind at the colony for the eleventh pilgrimage, had ended in near disaster. As always, thinking about that time, of Nathaniel in particular believing her to be dead, and of her effort, with Mira's and Carter's help, to get home, makes her go tense.

"Mama, you hold my hand too tight!" Gracie's protest brings Alicia back to the present. Alicia looks down to see Gracie trying to pull her hand away, her fluffy party dress swirling around her little legs.

She loosens her grip on Gracie's hand and gives her a contrite look. "I'm sorry, Bug. I didn't mean to."

Gracie slips her hand out of Alicia's, shaking it dramatically as if to return feeling to it. Alicia has to stifle a laugh; Gracie definitely inherited Nathaniel's flair for the dramatic. The annoyed expression along with the shaking motion and the long, full-skirted pink dress with matching sash make for quite a picture, completed by bouncing black pigtails adorned with bright pink ribbons.

Alicia has to marvel for a moment at how downright girly Gracie is. It's something entirely foreign to Alicia, and she has no idea why Gracie loves her dresses and ribbons so much. But even though it was never Alicia's style, she secretly adores Gracie's love of all things overly feminine – she particularly loves it when Gracie is decked out in an outfit like this and then tries to do something like climb a tree.

Gracie squeals when Alicia picks her up and plants her squarely on her hip. "Want a ride?" Alicia grins at her.

"OK, Mama. But don't squeeze so tight this time." Gracie gives Alicia her best attempt at a stern look.

Alicia stifles a laugh and nods. "Yes, ma'am." As they resume their trip towards the plaza, Alicia notices colonists and vendors watching them pass through the market on the way, smiles on their faces. She's amused by how fascinated people seem to be by the sight of the colony's tough and edgy – they think – second in command dressed in something other than fatigues and a gun and carrying the little girl who seems to have most of the colony wrapped around her little finger.

Frowning a little, Alicia sighs. She does feel somewhat naked without her holster strapped to her thigh, lacking the usual comforting weight of her gun. Her own hair is down, flowing past her shoulders, and she's wearing simple, soft black pants and a soft red sweater. Elisabeth helped her get some clothes in the market last week, insisting that Alicia could not wear her usual camo and weaponry to wedding showers.

Alicia had drawn a few lines, though. One was no dresses or skirts. The two she had to wear for the weddings themselves were enough, in her opinion. The other was no little pumps or sandals. Again, she'd wear her heels for her role in Carter's wedding, and she'd wear the heeled sandals for her dress for Mira's wedding, but that was enough. Instead, she'd found the heeled boots she now wears. The heels aren't too high, only a few inches, but they're soft black leather, and they go to her knees.

The night after she bought them, Nathaniel spotted them in the closet. It had been late, Gracie already long asleep in her room. After spying the boots in the closet, Nathaniel walked to their bedroom door to close it, and, with a gleam in his eye, asked her to try them on for him. She did, and not long after, the boots were the only thing either of them were wearing. She smirks at the memory.

"Mama, what's funny?" Busted, Alicia blushes lightly and tries to think fast.

"Nothing, Bug. Mama was just remembering something that happened before you were born." Alicia racks her brain for an appropriate story in case Gracie presses her further. She lands on one, and a moment later, she's glad she did.

"Tell stowy, Mama?" Gracie's eyes are wide with curiosity.

Alicia smiles. "Well, there was a little girl named Mandy, a little younger than you are right now, who wandered away from home and got lost here in the market." She proceeds to tell Gracie how Mandy had attached herself to Alicia until Nathaniel showed up, and then, when Nathaniel laughed at her about the situation, Alicia convinced the child to attach herself to him instead. By the time they get to the plaza, Gracie is giggling at the thought of her daddy with a little girl attached to his leg.

At the plaza, a canopy tent is set up, and almost twenty women are already gathered. The hostesses are Deborah Tate and Tasha, and they're already working the group, directing ladies to the table for the presents and then to the table with food and drinks. Alicia puts Gracie down and hands her Skye's gift, pointing out the presents table to her.

Gracie takes it and toddles over, carefully putting the gift on the table, with an assist from Reilly, who lifts her up because the table is too tall for Gracie to reach. Alicia isn't surprised when Reilly then shifts Gracie to her hip and takes her to talk to the other guests.

With her little social butterfly now in her element and in good hands, Alicia looks around for Elisabeth or Mira. She spots them sitting together at a small table, so she heads over to join them. They sit there chatting for a while, Mira earning an eye roll when she comments on Alicia's lack of weaponry.

Reilly eventually brings an icing-smeared Gracie to Alicia, shooting her an apologetic look when she does. Alicia just laughs and says, "Bug, did you get any cake _in _you?" Reilly looks relieved by the lack of irritation from her commanding officer, and she slips away.

Gracie looks a little frustrated. "Yes. But not enough! Was _messy_."

Alicia, Elisabeth and Mira all clearly do their best to swallow laughs at that, only because Gracie is so earnest with her complaint. Alicia nods gravely. "I know, Bug. Cake can be hard."

Gracie appears to be somewhat mollified by the sympathy. "Uh huh. And Auntie Wor-ruh told me to ruh-member to say that she made me eat some fwuit and a sandwich first, before cake."

Alicia laughs at that, both at the hit-or-miss Rs and Ls and at Reilly's wanting to be sure that Alicia knows she made Gracie eat some real food before the cake. "I'm glad to hear it, Bug."

Knowing that Gracie will likely be sleepy after the food, Alicia shifts back in her chair a bit, making it so that Gracie can curl into her shoulder. Under a minute later, Gracie does just that, falling asleep in Alicia's lap. Alicia continues to talk quietly with Elisabeth and Mira until Tasha and Deborah announce that it's time for gifts. Reilly then joins them, taking the open chair at the table after getting a slight nod of approval and a smile from Alicia.

Deborah fusses over Skye as Tasha brings her the gifts to open, and Alicia notices that Mira is being quiet. She can see that Mira is watching Deborah and Skye, and that she has something of a wistful expression on her face.

Skye opens gift after gift, including new towels from Alicia, Nathaniel and Gracie – as well as a picture frame that Gracie made for her. The picture frame, of course, elicits a chorus of "Aww" and "How cute!" The commotion wakes Gracie, who just snuggles closer to Alicia and favors the women with a small, confused smile.

A moment later, Skye opens a package from Deborah, a surprise for Skye. It's Deborah's veil from when Deborah married Skye's father, something she'd brought with them from the future. The women go to awwing again, and Skye lets Deborah help her try it on as they both get a little teary. Alicia looks over at Mira again, and Alicia is surprised to see that Mira's face has gone from wistful to undeniably sad.

Catching Alicia's eye, Mira just shakes her head. Then, she says, "Excuse me," and gets up and leaves the table, heading out of the canopied area.

Elisabeth and Reilly give Alicia concerned looks, probably copies of the look on her own face. She leans down to Gracie. "Bug, I need to go talk to Aunt Mira about something. Can you go to Aunt Elisabeth?"

Elisabeth nods and holds out her arms to Gracie, who sleepily says, "'K, Mama." She curls against Elisabeth as she had against Alicia, and Alicia gets up to follow Mira.

Alicia finds her friend just a little ways away from the plaza, on a bench under a shade tree, still with a full view of the plaza and canopy. Mira once again shakes her head as Alicia approaches. "I'm fine, Wash. Go back to the party."

"They can do without me for a bit." She ignores Mira's frown and drops down next to her on the bench. She looks at Mira. "And you're not even close to fine. What's going on?" Mira gives her a stubborn look, but Alicia just crosses her legs and leans against the back of the bench. "Elisabeth has Gracie. I can wait all day, Mira."

"God, you really are a pain in the ass. Almost as much as your husband. More so than Carter, which I didn't think was possible until I spent time with you and Taylor." Mira huffs.

Alicia laughs. "I know that wasn't intended as a compliment, but I'm going to take it that way anyway." Alicia's face turns serious. "Now tell me what's wrong. Honestly, I'm only asking because I'm worried. You look so sad right now, and that's not like you, at least not lately. I just want to help if I can."

Mira remains silent for a little bit, and Alicia starts to think that she's withdrawing further. Then, Mira sighs, her shoulders dropping, eyes directed down. In a quiet voice, she says, "That will never be Sienna and me. I won't help her with her wedding, I won't see her grow up, I'll never even know what happened to her. I'll never see my baby again."

Alicia actually winces at the pain she hears in Mira's voice, and she doesn't know what to say. They sit there in silence for a while until Mira says, "I know. I should let it go, shouldn't I? There's nothing I can do, the portal is gone, so I should try to forget." Her voice is barely a whisper now, and Alicia is only a little surprised to see tears on Mira's face.

Alicia reaches out and takes Mira's hand and grips it tight. "I would never say that, Mira. I'd never say to let it go, and I'd certainly never tell you to try to forget." Mira stays quiet, but it's telling that she doesn't pull her hand free from Alicia's. "I wish there was something I could say, some words that would help, but I know that there isn't anything. If it was Gracie…" Alicia can't even finish that thought.

Mira remains silent and doesn't look up, but she tightens her hand in Alicia's. "Mira, I know our beginning was rough. I mean, you've actually hit me in the face with the butt of a damned rifle." That earns Alicia a light snort. "But I can listen if you need someone to, or, you know, we could just go to the gym and beat the crap out of each other for a bit. Or we could find Carter and hit him. That always improves my mood."

At that, Mira's snort is full out. "Let's do that last thing. Carter's getting slow and more than a little complacent. We need to keep him on his toes more." Alicia laughs, and Mira finally looks back up at her. "Thank you, Alicia, for the offer of an ear and for being a good friend I never expected to have. Also, I don't want you to think that I'm generally unhappy. I'm not. I love Isaac, and my life here is a good life. I just wish Sienna was here with us. Isaac would be such a great dad for her, like he has been for Tasha."

"For what it's worth, I'm so glad he has you. He was alone too long, Tasha notwithstanding. He's so happy with you, Mira. And that makes me happy for both of you." Alicia squeezes Mira's hand again before pulling back. "And if it's hard for you to be around Gracie, I can…"

"No, it's not, Alicia. I promise. She's wonderful and adorable. You and Taylor appear to have produced some sort of perfect, Stepford kid. But in a good way." Mira smiles at her, a full, real smile.

Now, it's Alicia's turn to snort. "I should invite the colony to bedtime. She often doesn't want to go. She melted down last night. Kid naps like a pro, but bedtime for the night? Hell no. She's like devil child."

"I find that a little hard to believe, Alicia." Mira stands and Alicia follows her, both of them heading back to the party.

"OK, it's not _every _night, but when it happens, it's no fun to be around. She's like Nathaniel – a complete force of nature." Alicia smiles bemusedly.

"Alicia." Mira stops her with a hand on her arm. Alicia shoots Mira a questioning look. "You do get that she's as much you as she is him, and that you're just as much of a force of nature, right? Just in a different way?"

Alicia scoffs at that, but Mira shakes her head. "Alicia, when we got here, there were colonists who were openly aggressive to us, not because of our betrayal of the colony or of Taylor – they were pissed because they blamed us for _you _nearly getting killed. People follow Taylor because he's a natural born leader. You can't help but follow him. Hell, even I've drunk that particular Kool-Aid. But you? People here are almost insanely loyal to you, and I believe it's because they see that you're insanely loyal to Taylor and to them."

"Mira, you were the same way with your people. Insanely loyal to them. They're just as protective of you as the colonists are of me, and by extension, of Gracie." Alicia's cheeks have gone red at Mira's observations. She's not comfortable with that kind of praise, even if, deep down, she knows how the colonists see her and her role here.

"Maybe so. Look at us: two badass, overly loyal women. I think we deserve cake." Mira grins at her, clearly trying to lighten the mood.

"Definitely cake. And punch. We deserve punch, too." Alicia nods.

When they get back to their table, Alicia, recruiting Reilly to assist, goes off in search of cake. Before they go, she sees Mira take the chair next to Elisabeth, holding her arms out to take Gracie. As Alicia turns to leave the table, she hears Mira say, "Bug, I like your dress. I had a little girl once, she still lives in the future, and she would have loved to have a dress like yours."

Worried, Alicia frowns little as she hears Gracie ask about Mira's daughter's name and then ask for stories, well, "stowwies," about her. But when she turns back to look at them, Mira gives her a small, reassuring nod and proceeds to tell Gracie a little about Sienna. When they get back, Mira looks sad, but she also has a smile on her face as Gracie listens at rapt attention to the stories from her Aunt Mira.


	5. Chapter 5

"_Courage is the most important of all the virtues, because without courage you can't practice any other virtue consistently." –Maya Angelou_

_One Week to Wedding #1 –Cold Feet and Other Uncomfortable Conditions_

It's a Monday morning, and after dropping Gracie off at school, Alicia, pack on her shoulder and body armor in hand, is climbing the stairs of the command center. She'd been planning to go straight to the gate to leave on a re-supply run to one of the outposts when Nathaniel called her to meet him here instead.

As she walks into his office, she sees Nathaniel, Elisabeth and a rather sad looking Shannon at the conference table. Shannon is dressed casually, a t-shirt and sweats, which makes her brow furrow, given that he's supposed to be going OTG with her. The mystery is solved a moment later when he lets loose a window-rattling sneeze, followed quickly by Elisabeth handing him a handkerchief as he has a short coughing fit.

Alicia smirks a little. "Gesundheit." He shoots a glare and an obscene gesture at her, and they all, Elisabeth included, laugh. Shannon turns and gives her a betrayed look before rolling his eyes and drooping into a sulk. Alicia's smirk grows. "Silent Shannon? Oh lord, you can't talk, can you?"

If possible, Shannon's glare is even darker than before, and he actually emits a low growl. Elisabeth laughs again as she pats her husband on the head placatingly. "He can't. No voice whatsoever. I'm expecting him to explode at any moment."

Shannon grabs a plex and angrily types something into it. He hands it to Elisabeth, who laughs again, kissing Shannon on the cheek. He crosses his arms across his chest and sinks further into a sulk. Alicia can't fight her curiosity. "What does it say?"

Elisabeth grins. "It says 'That's not funny, Liz.'"

That sets them off again, and Shannon actually throws his arms out in what Alicia is sure is the universal gesture for "what the hell?" He then crosses his arms on the table in front of him, and he drops his head on them in a huff. Elisabeth goes back to patting his head, chuckling lightly when he blindly bats her hand away.

Alicia tries to get serious, turning to Nathaniel. He's still grinning at the sulking cop, so Alicia clears her throat, getting his attention. "I take it this is why you asked me to come here instead of going to the gate, Nathaniel?"

He nods, also trying to get serious, though Alicia can see from the barely swallowed smirk and the glint in his eye that he's having to work very hard at it. "It is. I was going to ask Mira to go with you, but I decided that since she's getting married on Saturday, maybe I should give her a break. Carter's going to go – he's on his way here now."

"You told him it's an overnight?"

"I did. He said he just needed a few minutes to throw his gear in a pack."

"OK." She puts her own pack and armor down and drops into the chair next to Nathaniel's. She turns to Elisabeth and gestures at Shannon. "So, in all seriousness, is this just a cold? I'm assuming it's nothing more sinister than that, given the fact that you're letting him wander the colony."

She, Nathaniel and Elisabeth all look at Shannon, expecting another annoyed reaction. Instead, they just hear a snuffly snore come from him, head still pillowed on his arms. They all smile at that, and Alicia actually feels a little sorry for him. In a soft voice, Elisabeth replies, "It _was _just a cold. I wanted him to take it easy this weekend, but he insisted on helping Mark do some work around Mark and Maddy's house. He overdid it and wore himself out. Now, it's acute bronchitis and laryngitis."

Carter walks in as Elisabeth is speaking, glancing at Shannon. "Ouch. Guess that means I have to be at least kind of nice to him?" He directs his question to Alicia.

She snorts. "He's asleep, so not really."

"Great. Because I'd hate to lose my rep just because I felt sorry for Shannon." He gives her a shit-eating grin, which makes her and Elisabeth roll their eyes and Nathaniel chuckle.

Nathaniel turns to Elisabeth. "Doc, we're heading to the gate. Take him home and lock him up until he's at least semi-conscious. But don't wake him up until we're gone. Would hate to tempt my wife and her adopted brother with the opportunity to give the poor bastard a hard time."

Alicia and Carter snicker like children as Elisabeth swallows a grin and gives him a mock salute. "Yes, sir."

Then, it's Nathaniel's turn to roll his eyes. "Smart ass."

Elisabeth cocks an eyebrow at him. "Was that ever in question, Nathaniel?" She's been calling him by his first name since the quarantine that trapped several of them in the infirmary several weeks ago.

He shakes his head, laughing. "Touché, Elisabeth." He grabs Alicia's pack and armor for her and motions towards the door. Alicia and Carter both wave to Elisabeth as they leave, and he follows them out.

Fifteen minutes later, after a good-bye that earned her and Nathaniel catcalls from Carter and from the soldiers on duty at the gate, the latter now having extra late-night perimeter duty this week, Alicia and Carter are in a rhino. Nathaniel usually sends her in rhinos now, as opposed to the rovers. She knows it's because he thinks they're a little safer, and after an experience she and Elisabeth had several months ago, one where a carno destroyed their rover, stranding them in the woods, she can't really blame him too much. She knows he worries, so even though she doesn't think, from a safety standpoint, that there's much difference between the two types of vehicles, she just lets him have his way.

They tear out of the gate with Alicia behind the wheel, driving in her usual slightly reckless fashion. They're heading for one of the more remote northern outposts to deliver some supplies and pick up some samples for Malcolm. It's several hours to the outpost, so they won't be back until late Tuesday afternoon.

Alicia notices that Carter is being uncharacteristically quiet, and, maybe even more uncharacteristic, he seems introspective. After a while, over the sound of the engine and wind noise from their speed, Alicia breaks the silence. "I'm surprised Skye wasn't there to say good-bye."

She glances over in time to see him shift uncomfortably. "She was busy at the infirmary."

"Bullshit. Try again."

"What? Why is that bullshit?" He sounds defensive.

Alicia isn't impressed. "Carter, there have been trips OTG when you're going to be gone for an hour, and she's there to say good-bye. You're going to be gone a full day, and she wasn't there because 'she was busy?' Like I said, try again. What's going on?"

He goes silent for a bit, looking nearly mulish. She's about to prompt him when he sighs and mumbles something she can't hear.

"What was that, Carter?"

He throws his hands up. "We had a fight, OK? A really stupid fight, and now she's mad at me. And I'm a little mad at her. But it was stupid. A really stupid fight. And yes, I'll eventually tell you what it was about, because I know if I don't, you'll bug me about it until I either want to kill you or kill myself. Both of those, of course, are undesirable options, because both ultimately result in my death. And I'm really not ready to die yet."

Though she keeps her eyes on the terrain in front of the rhino, Alicia still blinks a few times at Carter's outburst. "Wait, how does killing _me_ result in _your _death?"

"Are you kidding, Wash? As if Taylor wouldn't beat me to death if something happened to you when you were with me, whether it was my fault or not."

She thinks about that for a moment. "Fair enough." He snorts at that, and she goes on, "And you're also right about the other part – I will definitely bug you. I mean, it's seven hours out there and seven hours back, plus just hanging around the outpost tonight. That's a _lot _of time to kill. So go ahead and spill it, Carter."

If she didn't know better, she'd swear that she could hear him roll his eyes at her. "Fine, Wash. Look, it was my fault. I was a smart ass about something Skye asked me about for the wedding, something about the food or something. She got mad, I got mad, then I got the call from Taylor, so I threw my stuff in my pack and left."

"OK, Carter, back up. What exactly did you say to her? 'Being a smart ass' could mean a lot of different things."

"I said I didn't know why she was asking me, because it's not like they would listen to what I wanted anyway." Alicia gives him an incredulous look, and he cringes. "I know. It was a stupid thing to say."

"Did you mean it?"

He blinks that time. "What do you mean?"

Alicia huffs out a breath. "What do you mean, what did I mean? Carter, do you really feel that way, or were you just being a jerk?" Out of the corner of her eye, she sees him hesitate. "Tell the _truth_, Carter."

He sighs again. "Fine. Yes. I meant it. It's out of control, Alicia. I really would've preferred something smaller like Guz and Mira are doing, or hell, something even smaller than that, something like you and Taylor did. But this is turning into a circus. It feels like half the damned colony will be there, it's going to be all formal, and all of that. I hate to say this, because it's going to make me sound all deep and shit, but it feels like the fact that we're getting _married_ is getting lost in all the crap about the _wedding_."

"Carter, have you told Skye that? Or have you just been sullen and grouchy?" She looks at him briefly, lifting an eyebrow at him.

He looks sheepish at that. "The second one." Alicia starts to say something, and he says, "I know, Wash, I should've said something, but she's so damned excited about it all. I didn't want to ruin her fun, and I've been afraid to upset her. But as much as I want to be married to her, I'm starting to suffocate under all of this wedding crap."

"Carter, if you're that miserable with all of it, you have to man up tell her. Otherwise, she's going to think you're getting cold feet."

"What?" He sits up a little straighter in his seat. "No, Wash, come on, she won't think that." He pauses, and Alicia just gives him a moment to think about it. A second later, the realization clearly hits home, and he slumps low, dropping his face into his palm. "Shit. She's going to think I'm upset because we're getting married, not because of the out of control wedding plans, isn't she? Shit, shit, shit."

"Bingo, Big Brother. We're already too far out now, but you're calling her from the communications set up when we get to the outpost. And you have from here to there to formulate an apology and to figure out how to tell her how you feel about this."

"What? Wash, I suck at apologies, and I'm not much better at personal expression. You pretty much know that. You have to help me!"

She shakes her head. "No, Carter. This has to be all you. You have seven hours. Even _you _can figure out what to say in seven hours."

"Seven? Isn't it more like six and a half?" He sounds puzzled.

"Yes. But you get seven, because for the first thirty minutes after I get there, I'm using the communications equipment to read Gracie some bedtime stories." She hears a grumble. "You have a problem with that, Carter? It's the only thing we've been able to work out that helps her not be scared when one of us is OTG. Should I skip it? Then you can apologize to an upset toddler _and _your fiancée. I wonder which one will cry more?"

"OK, OK. Sorry. You get dibs on the radio."

"Thank you." He grumbles something she can't make out. "What was that?"

"I said, it's not like I had a choice."

"No, but I like to make you feel like you do, at least every once in a while." She smirks at him. "Now, apology. Start thinking about it, Carter."

He huffs out a resigned breath. "Yes, ma'am."

"Oh my God, how long was he on the radio?" Mira asks, she and Elisabeth gasping with laughter along with Alicia as they sit in the chairs out on Alicia and Nathaniel's deck. They were waiting for Alicia to get Gracie down to sleep, having heard about Carter and Skye's little dust up.

"Over two hours. When he came out, I swear, he looked worse than he did when I kicked his ass in the sparring ring." Alicia grins. "But he did tell Skye the truth about how out of control he thought everything was getting. I think the last straw for him was them wanting to make it a sit-down dinner with assigned seating for three _hundred_."

Elisabeth snorts. "That's basically a third of the colony!"

Alicia nods. "Yep. She has backed off of that. The guest list isn't growing – it's staying put at just over one hundred, where it has been for a while. Still big, but back to a buffet and open seating. To her credit, she was waiting for him when we got back this afternoon, and she apologized to him, too, for letting it get so out of control."

Elisabeth looks at her watch and gets to her feet. "I need to be off. I owe Zoe some help with her science project."

Elisabeth pats Mira gently on the shoulder and then gives them both a wave as Mira and Alicia wish her a good night. Mira goes quiet after Elisabeth leaves, appearing to be lost in thought. Leaning back to look up at the stars, Alicia says, "OK, what's up, Mira?"

Mira looks at her, surprised. "What do you mean?"

"The pat on the shoulder from Elisabeth, and now you're all pensive? Something's going on." Alicia gives her a pointed look.

"You're pretty sure of yourself. When did you turn into a mind reader?"

"When did you and Carter both get so damned easy to read?" Alicia lifts an eyebrow at her. "And seriously, am I wrong?"

Mira lets out a deep breath. "No."

"So, then what's going on?"

"I haven't told Isaac yet." Mira sounds nervous.

"What haven't you told him?" Alicia is getting a little confused and more than a little concerned.

"I'm, well, damn it. I'm pregnant, Wash." Mira looks down at her hands.

Alicia nearly spits out the mouthful of the drink she just took. "What?"

Alicia's near spit-take seems to lighten Mira's mood a bit, because she smiles. "I'm pregnant, Wash."

"Are you serious? How far along?" Alicia can't help but return Mira's smile.

Mira nods. "Yes, I'm serious, and I'm nine weeks along. I suspected, but I just went into denial."

Alicia thinks about how far along that is, and suddenly, she frowns. "Wait, so that means you were already pregnant during…"

"During the quarantine. Yes. Elisabeth thinks it'll be fine." Mira's hands wind together in her lap. "She doesn't think the treatment or the illness will have negatively impacted the baby."

Alicia reaches over and covers Mira's hands with one of her own. "Trust Elisabeth, Mira. The docs in the future told me, after Somalia, that my chances of getting pregnant and carrying the baby to term were between three and four percent. And yet, we have Gracie. Just trust Elisabeth."

Mira nods again. "Do you think Isaac will be upset?" Her voice is barely louder than a whisper.

At Mira's concern, Alicia breaks one of her own rules of casual contact. She leans forward and wraps Mira up in a gentle hug. "No. He'll only be upset if you keep it from him. He loves you, Mira, and he'll love the baby too."

Mira pulls back. "I want to keep it mostly quiet, but you can tell the Old Bastard."

Alicia chuckles at what can only be described as Mira's usual pet name for Nathaniel. "He'll be so excited for you two, Mira."

Mira smiles and then looks thoughtful. "Why don't you two try to have another?"

Shaking her head, Alicia gives Mira a sad smile. "We thought about it briefly, but the truth is, Mira, Gracie really is a miracle baby. After the placental abruption with her, and with my age, we just decided that the risks were too high. I had a ligation of my one functional tube last year. No more accidental pregnancies for us. We're happy as a party of three anyway." Alicia goes quiet before looking up and smiling again. "Now no stalling. Go home. Tell Isaac. Have some really good celebratory sex."

With a light, nervous laugh, Mira stands. "You really don't think he'll be pissed?"

Alicia stands too, and she quickly hugs Mira again. "I really don't think he'll be pissed."

Mira pulls away. "Good night, Alicia." She steps off of the deck, heading home.

A moment later, Alicia is startled when the door behind her opens and closes. Within seconds, a pair of strong arms encircle her waist and a gruff voice sounds in her ear. "You done solving the world's problems?"

She laughs, leaning back into his chest. "Don't know about _solving _them, but at least I'm getting people to talk to each other."

He tightens his arms around her. "About what?"

She laughs. "Well, Carter had to convince Skye that he wasn't getting cold feet, and he had to explain that his crappy attitude of late was mostly owed to the fact that he thought the wedding was getting way too big and over the top."

He chuckles. "And Mira?"

She turns in his arms to look up at him. "And Mira is pregnant, and she was afraid to tell Guz."

He gives her a surprised smile at that. "Really?"

"Yes, really. You get to be an uncle again, Nathaniel." She grins up at him and then releases him. "I'm tired. Can we call it a night?"

He releases her and helps her straighten the deck chairs. "Yes, ma'am." He swats her on the butt as they go in the house. "And unless you really want to, we don't have to talk at all."

She laughs and favors him with a wicked grin. "Works for me, Nathaniel." Leaning up, she presses her mouth to his and pushes him towards their bedroom.


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note: **Wedding #1 has arrived…

Sorry this took so long to get posted! Note, this is set in the context of my other stories, but definitely not necessary to read those for this to make sense – just be aware that in my context now, Wash and Taylor are married and have a little girl named Gracie, and the Sixers have come back to Terra Nova.

**Disclaimer is as usual – no profit, not mine (except Gracie, of course), just borrowing.**

_"I'm a Pregasaurus...mess with me and you'll be extinct." – Anonymous_

_Wedding #1 – Guz and Mira_

At ten in the morning on the day of Mira and Guz's wedding, carrying her dress over one arm and her shoes and other accessories in a bag over her shoulder, Alicia knocks on the front door of Mira and Guz's house. The wedding isn't until one, but she already has her hair ready, down in soft waves past her shoulders. It's far less elaborate than what she has in mind for the next wedding, Carter and Skye's, in two weeks. For that one, her hair will be up, dramatic to match her black dress.

A moment after she knocks, she's surprised to see the door opened not by Mira, but by a very worried-looking Guzman. "Guz? What are you still doing here?"

He shakes his head and motions Alicia into the house. "She's sick as a dog, and she won't let me into the bathroom to help her."

"Ah. OK. Well, I got this. You need to go to my house. Nathaniel's there, and so are Shannon and Carter. And no, I don't know _why _Shannon and Carter showed up. You can ask them."

He hesitates. "Wash, she seems really sick."

Alicia laughs and pats him on the arm. "Guz, I know you know that she's pregnant, and at the risk of sounding like a bad movie script, I know you know I know. It's morning sickness, likely combined with wedding nerves. She'll be fine. I'll go hold her hair back, and then I'll make her eat something. The only thing that helps is not letting your stomach get empty. Believe me. I know."

"You do? But you were always fine for perimeter walk in the mornings and for the morning meetings!" He looks confused as he gathers his bag and uniform and heads for the door.

"Yeah, Guz, 'morning' sickness is a serious misnomer. Mine struck in the afternoons. Every day for over 5 weeks, if I missed my 3 p.m. snack, between 3:30 and 4, you could find me puking my guts out." She grimaces at the memory.

"Damn, Wash. I had no idea."

She gives him a game smile. "That was the plan. With my injuries from Somalia in play, we didn't want to go public. I really didn't breathe easy until I made it to twenty-six weeks. That was the cut off Elisabeth gave me for solid viability. Anything earlier, and the chances of Gracie surviving would have been far lower."

"Once again, no idea, Wash. Did anyone else know that?" He looks genuinely surprised.

Alicia shrugs. "Elisabeth of course, and she probably told Shannon. And, being a medic himself, I think Carter figured it out because I was going to see Elisabeth every week. Boylan knew too. Otherwise, no, it wasn't common knowledge," she pauses, "Guz, you're happy, right? About the baby? I told Mira you would be, so…"

He waves a hand. "I'm thrilled, Wash. I admit that I was really surprised, but after I recovered from that, I was good. Tasha's excited, too, which is a relief. I was afraid she'd react badly, but she didn't. And it took a little while, given that it's been me and Tasha on our own for so long, but she's really warming up to Mira. It was never really bad, but it's just better now."

"I'm glad to hear it, Guz. And you know I'm going to ask Mira just how surprised you were, right?" She gives him a mischievous look and he just groans and nods. "Now go. My house. And tell Carter I want Gracie here by noon, 12:15 at the latest."

He gives her a snappy salute and a grin. "Yes, ma'am!"

"Go before I give you KP."

He's laughing when he leaves, which makes Alicia happy. She's sure Mira is fine, and she doesn't want Guz to be worried about her. She closes the door behind him, and after putting her dress and bag on the sofa, she heads for the bathroom. She knocks softly on the closed door.

"Isaac, go to Taylor's. I'm fine." Mira's voice calls out, sounding decidedly less than fine.

Alicia frowns in sympathy. "It's not Guz, Mira. It's Alicia. Open the door."

After a moment, Alicia hears a little shuffling around, and then the door opens, revealing Mira looking a little worse for wear. "Hey, Wash."

"How are you doing? Need to sit?" Alicia is more than a little concerned at how worn out Mira looks.

Mira shakes her head, something Alicia knows might turn out to be a tactical error – and it is. The motion clearly makes Mira's stomach queasy, because she bolts back towards the commode, dropping to her knees. Alicia quickly follows, closing the bathroom door behind them. She kneels down next to Mira, holding her hair back with one hand and gently rubbing her back with the other.

It's obvious that Mira has been at this for a while, because all that seems to be happening is a little water coming up and dry heaves. After a minute, the tension seems to drain out of her friend, who sinks into a sitting position, her back to the shower door. "Thanks."

"Water? And don't gesture! _Say _yes or no!"

Mira actually chuckles softly at that. "Yes."

Alicia gets up and fills up the water cup she sees sitting on the bathroom counter. Handing it to Mira, she says, "So, how has your morning been?"

Mira rolls her eyes as she cautiously takes a sip of the water. She waits a moment, probably to see if the water comes back up. "Ha ha. Did you have this?"

"Yes, but in the afternoons. Nathaniel was convinced I'd emerge from my first trimester down at least ten pounds. Have you eaten this morning?"

"No. I was too nervous. Bad idea, eh?" Mira gives her a weak smile.

"_Very _bad idea. Come on, up on your feet. I'll make you some nice, bland toast." Alicia holds out her hand to help Mira up.

Half an hour later, after downing some toast and more water, Mira is looking better. Alicia can tell that she's still slightly queasy, but it does seem that the worst is over. "OK, you need to shower; I'll get my make-up on while you do that. They're bringing Gracie over around noon, so I want to be ready myself before that. Elisabeth is going to come over to help us finish up, though. I know we're having a lunch after the ceremony, but I want you to have another small snack before the wedding."

Mira begins to argue, but Alicia just waves her off. "No arguments, Mira. Do you really want to have to stop the wedding in order to go barf up your toast?"

Mira's shoulders drop in defeat. "No. I just really don't like food these days."

Alicia laughs at that. "One thing before you go shower. I'm dying to know. Guz said that he was very surprised by the news about the baby. Exactly how surprised was he?"

Mira smirks. "He fainted. Dead away."

"Are you serious?" Alicia grins. At Mira's nod, she goes on, "Damn. Please tell me I'm allowed to mock him. Gently. Just a tiny bit."

"Considering that I've offered to have Carter build him a fainting couch, I'd say it's open season." Mira grins back. "How did Taylor take it when you told him about Gracie?"

Alicia rolls her eyes. "Well, he was elated at first – picked me up and hugged me so tight that I actually squeaked. But then he went all over-protective alpha male on me, wanted to ground me. When I argued with him, he told me he'd look after me if I wouldn't look after myself."

"Ouch." Mira winces. "Bet that didn't go over well."

"Good bet. I walked out. It took Elisabeth fussing at him and threatening to beat him with an I.V. stand to make him back down. He found me and apologized. A lot."

"God, I can just see Elisabeth doing that, up in his face like a feisty little dog. Isn't he a good six inches taller than she is?" Mira laughs.

Alicia laughs along with her. "Six inches, and with all that muscle mass, probably seventy pounds heavier! But she still, to this day, has his number. Maybe it's just a female medic thing, because with the exception of his late wife, I've never seen him truly back down for anyone but me or her."

Mira smiles, clearly feeling better. "Thanks, Alicia."

Alicia furrows her brow. "For what?"

"Being here, not hating my guts for what I did, not judging me, I could just do a list, if that would be easier?" Mira is suddenly serious.

"Mira, first and foremost, once I learned why you did what you did, there was absolutely no reason for me to hate you. I might've done the same thing for Gracie," Alicia puts a hand on Mira's shoulder, "And honestly, you weren't exactly as evil as you seem to think you were."

Mira shakes her head and looks down. "That's not true, Alicia."

"Look at me," Alicia commands, and Mira looks up. "First off, on the day of the now-infamous episode of you hitting me in the face with the butt of a rifle, we both know you could have killed me. You could have killed me and Dunham both. But you didn't. Now, I know it was in part because we could be leveraged, but you just let us go, basically for nothing in return."

"Yeah, but then I helped the Phoenix Group take the colony."

"Maybe so, but you also walked away from the Phoenix Group, and before you did, you saved my life by helping me escape after Lucas shot me." She squeezes Mira's shoulder. "You didn't have to do that, Mira. And you did that without knowing whether we'd be willing to forgive. You can try to hate yourself all you want, but I'm here to tell you that you don't deserve it. You've made it clear why you did what you did, and you've made it clear that you have regrets over it. That's good enough for me, it's good enough for Nathaniel, and I'd say it's very clearly good enough for Guz."

Instead of replying, Mira just gets up and hugs Alicia. Surprised, Alicia goes tense for a moment before hugging back. When Mira steps away, Alicia teases, "I thought we agreed that there wouldn't be any hugging."

Mira snorts. "You of all people should realize that pregnancy hormones negate all prior agreements."

Alicia grins. "Fair point. Now you, shower. Go."

As she turns to go, Mira mutters, "Bossy."

A while later, a little bit after noon, Alicia is ready, her make-up done and dress on, and she's helping Mira finish her hair. Elisabeth has joined them, and she's helping as well. They're putting it up, the way Mira prefers it. Alicia hears a knock at the door, and Mira shoos her away with one hand. "Go, that's probably Carter with Gracie."

Alicia heads for the door, smiling as she realizes that she's actually enjoying the feel of the skirt of her dress swirling gently around her legs as she walks. She pulls open the door to see an unusually well-groomed Carter holding Gracie on his hip. "Mama! You look wike me!"

Laughing at Gracie's assessment, Alicia reaches out to take her. As he transfers Gracie to her, Carter observes, "You clean up pretty good, Lieutenant."

She rolls her eyes. "Back at ya, Carter. I think this is the first time I've ever seen you without immediately thinking that you really need to shower." She turns from the door to put Gracie down and make sure her dress, mary janes and hair are in acceptable shape.

He laughs and follows her inside. He obviously notices how she is scrutinizing Gracie. "You should have seen Taylor trying to tie the bow for the sash on her dress. It was a sight to behold."

Concerned, Alicia turns Gracie, only to find a perfectly tied bow. She looks up at Carter. "There is no way Nathaniel Taylor managed this."

Gracie giggles, and Carter nods. "Good call. Shannon, however, has two daughters. He is apparently something of a reluctant expert at these kinds of things."

"Unca Shannon made my hair pwetty too, Mama!" Gracie points at the bow in her hair, tied like a headband holding back her wavy, black hair. "And watch me spin! I spin pwetty!" Gracie pirouettes, making her full skirt billow out around her.

Alicia has to grin. "You do spin pretty, Bug! Very pretty."

Gracie holds her arms up for Alicia to lift her. Alicia does, and as Gracie settles on her hip, she says, "Mama, now you spin us. You spin pwetty too!"

"Bug, I don't think I could spin as pretty as you."

With a smirk, Carter jumps in. "C'mon, Wash. Show us you can spin pretty."

Alicia shoots a dirty look at Carter, who just laughs. Gracie tugs on a lock of Alicia's hair, though, and when Alicia looks down, she knows she'll be spinning momentarily. With wide, blue puppy dog eyes, Gracie says, "Pwease, Mama?"

"'Please,' Bug."

Gracie frowns and tries again. "Puh-lease, spin Mama?"

Alicia furrows her brow at Gracie for a moment before tightening her hold on her. She grins. "Hold tight, little Bug."

Gracie's arms wrap tight around Alicia's neck, and Alicia starts to spin in a tight circle, moving faster and faster until Gracie squeals happily. As she slows and then stops, Alicia is startled to hear Mira's voice. "I wish we'd had a camera on that, because I'm not sure anyone would believe us if we told them about it."

Alicia looks over to see Mira and Elisabeth smiling at her from the threshold of the bedroom. Carter stands where he was when he came in, looking at them with a funny expression on his face. Alicia puts Gracie down, and Elisabeth says, "Come here, Bug, let me straighten your hair bow."

As a giggling and slightly dizzy Gracie toddles over to Elisabeth, Alicia looks at Carter. "Carter? What is that face?"

He blinks but then smiles at her. "I was just thinking. She's changed you, hasn't she? In a good way, I mean. There's just no way that the Alicia Washington I met when I got here with the sixth pilgrimage would have been caught dead spinning around in a dress."

She bristles and starts to make a smart assed reply, but then she notices that he seems completely sincere. She gives him a slightly confused smile. "I guess she has changed me a little."

He must see that he put her on the defensive. "It's not a criticism, Wash. Just the opposite, really. You're still you, you just have gained a soft side not many people get to see. I like that you let me see, Little Sister."

She doesn't really have a response to that, so she just nods and smiles at him. Mira startles her again when she says, "Jeez, Carter. Are you pregnant too? Because the emotional stuff is getting pretty thick today. Or maybe it's just a proximity to a preggo thing." At Alicia's surprised look, Mira explains, "I told him not long after I told Isaac."

"Ah." Alicia nods. "So, are we all ready?"

Mira looks nervous, but also very pretty in her chocolate brown dress. It's almost the same design as Alicia's dress, an A-line skirt stopping mid-calf and a fitted, sleeveless bodice. The only real difference is that Alicia's has a high neck and Mira's is lower cut. They both wear heeled sandals that match their dresses, made for them by a man in the market. "I think so."

Leaving Elisabeth's side, Gracie goes over to Mira and cranes her neck to look up at her. "Aunt Meerwa, you look very pwetty."

Mira leans down and scoops Gracie up, planting a quick kiss on her cheek. "Thanks, Bug. You look very pretty too."

Gracie preens a little, making Alicia, Carter and Elisabeth all have to swallow laughs. Alicia goes over to them and holds her hands out to take Gracie. Gracie gives Mira a slightly less-quick kiss on the cheek, and then she leans over to Alicia, who takes her with a smile.

Alicia sits Gracie on her hip and looks at the others. "Are we ready to go?"

"Ready as I'll ever be." Mira gives them all a weak smile, suddenly looking very nervous.

Carter steps forward and offers his arm. "Walk you to the party?"

Mira smiles and shakes her head as she takes his arm. She lets out a deep breath. "Thanks, Carter. Let's go."

A short while later, Alicia, Mira and Gracie are alone in the small private room in the back of the covered pavilion that was recently constructed for events such as this. They'll be back here in two weeks for Skye and Carter's wedding. Gracie seems occupied by sorting through her small basket of flowers, mumbling, "Save pwettiest for luh-ast," to herself, making Alicia snort quietly. Alicia looks over at Mira, and is surprised by how nervous she looks. "It's going to go fine, you know."

Mira jumps a little and smiles. "I'm actually not worried about the wedding. It's something else, something kind of stupid."

Alicia walks over to her. "What?"

Mira laughs. "I keep thinking that half of the military and security forces are here. You just know a pack of slashers or a carno will attack in the middle of the ceremony."

Alicia grins and laughs too. "But you know, Guz and Nathaniel will find us totally hot when we're shooting at dinos while dressed like this," she pauses, looking thoughtful, "But we need to use some powder."

With a confused smile, Mira says, "Powder?"

"Well, we're both sleeveless, and the body armor will really chafe bare skin." She shoots Mira another grin, this one slightly wicked.

Mira shakes her head, laughing again. "You know, I'd ask how you know that, but I don't think I want to know the answer. Your husband is Isaac's best man, and I need to be able to look him in the eye."

They're still laughing when Carter pokes his head in to ask if they're ready.

A few hours later, Alicia is standing off to the side of the pavilion, watching the wedding guests dance, Guz and Mira in the middle of them. The wedding went very well, Gracie causing quite the sensation with her little fluffy dress and her sorted flowers. She also provided more comic relief when, halfway through the ceremony, she got up from where she was sitting with Elisabeth and walked up to Alicia to announce in a pretty loud voice that she needed to go to the potty.

Alicia has to laugh quietly at that. She'd been torn between chastising Gracie and between giving her a hug. They've been working hard on potty training, and her asking to go is _almost _always a good thing. Swallowing a laugh, Elisabeth jumped up to escort Gracie to the restroom. The rest of them, Nathaniel, Guz and Mira, along with Malcolm, who was officiating the ceremony, were less successful at hiding their amusement, all laughing out loud.

Alicia suddenly jumps when she feels an arm snake around her from behind. A moment later, she hears Nathaniel's voice next to her ear. "Have I told you how gorgeous you look today?"

She smiles and leans back into his chest, resting her arm on his and taking his hand, their fingers twining together. "Not until now, though your eyes told me pretty clearly when I walked up the aisle."

He drops his head and kisses her neck, and the feel of his beard on her bare skin makes her shiver just like it always does. "Where's Gracie?"

She turns her head so she can look at him, face to face without looking up because her heels make her the same height as him. "Reilly took her home for a nap."

He grins and pulls away, keeping their hands together. "Well, in that case, may I have this dance?"

She grins in return. "I'll have to check my dance card. It was pretty full."

Laughing, he drags her to the dance floor. As he pulls her tight to him, he growls, "I pity any man who attempts to cut in."

Nuzzling his face with her nose, she murmurs back, "And I pity any woman who tries to do the same."

They move together silently for a while, lost in the slow, pretty music and each other. After a couple of minutes, Alicia notices Guz and Mira, dancing close as she and Nathaniel are. Mira catches her eye and smiles at her before resting her head on Guz's shoulder.

Alicia must have a contemplative look on her face, because Nathaniel says, "Penny for your thoughts?"

She smiles at him. "Nothing special. I was just thinking that I can't really remember a time in life when I was happier, more at ease and content than I am right now."

He hugs her tighter to him. "I know what you mean."

She goes quiet again before saying, "Of course, now that I said that…"

He chuckles. "Stop right there. I think we've had plenty of other shoes drop on us. I'm just going to believe that the universe is going to give us a break for a while. So no doomsday talk, Lieutenant."

"Yes, sir." She grins and leans into him. "Mira and I were talking earlier, and I was reminded of some of our experiences with body armor and bare skin."

He leans back to look at her, and she favors him with a leer. He laughs, his hand on her back wandering slightly lower than is strictly appropriate. "Fine, but this time, we're using some of Gracie's baby powder."


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note: **Y'all are going to hate me, but I just _had _to do this! I can't write a completely action-less story. It's just not how I roll… : )

Note, this is set in the context of my other stories, all relationships are built on in each story. **Disclaimer is as usual – no profit, not mine (except Gracie, of course), just borrowing.  
**

_Things could be worse. Suppose your errors were counted and published every day, like those of a baseball player. –Anonymous_

_A Brief Intermission, Five Days to Wedding #2_

_OTG Team_

"You did _what_?" Alicia brandishes her sonic weapon at the scientist cowering in front of her. Carter and Shannon, flanking her, both look equal parts pissed off and amazed by the stupidity. In the distance, a loud, intermittent banging can be heard.

"We couldn't have known that the system would get stuck in a permanent loop!" The scientist, a man taller than Alicia but thin enough to blow away in a stiff wind, backs away from her so quickly that he bumps into a chair, nearly tumbling backwards over it.

"_That's_ your answer? I thought you scientists we're supposed to be _intelligent_, but even I, a high school dropout who joined the military at 18, knows that open broadcast on damned speakers of a sound you know will attract slashers? _Bad idea_!" Alicia is literally seething, and the poor man looks as though he is about to wet himself.

When her sonic weapon charges, Shannon steps forward and, from behind her, puts his hands on Alicia's upper arms. Carter steps between Alicia and the scientist, and without looking at Alicia, he turns to the scientist and says, "Go figure out how to turn the system off. You have five minutes. If you don't do it in five minutes, we're killing the power to the outpost. Leave. Now. Running might be best."

Alicia watches as the scientist actually whimpers and bolts from the room. They're at one of the outposts relatively near Terra Nova, and the idiot scientists thought it would be "interesting to see how effective the sound was at attracting slashers."

Judging by the dozen or so of the damned things currently throwing themselves at the outpost's fence, the source of the banging sounds, it's very, very effective. She wrenches free of Shannon's hands and stalks over to the communications set-up. Within seconds, she has a signal. "Washington to Terra Nova. Come in, Terra Nova."

A moment later, Nathaniel's voice comes over the comm. "We were getting worried, Alicia. Why are you so late checking in?"

"Because there were slashers everywhere. We had to fight our way into the outpost, Nathaniel."

"How many, Alicia, and where the hell did they come from?" Nathaniel sounds instantly worried.

"Over a dozen. And they _called_ them. The twits out here, and we _really _need to ask Malcolm how these morons got recruited, discovered data reports from several years ago regarding a sound that attracts slashers. Apparently, they decided that seeing if it really worked was a good plan," she pauses as she hears Nathaniel utter a particularly colorful curse, "That was bad enough, but then the brain trust out here couldn't figure out how to shut the system down."

She hears Nathaniel curse again before he says, "OK, at least you're only three and a half hours from the colony. We can get some teams out to you well before dark. You'll be pretty full up tonight, though."

"Can we get a private channel, Nathaniel?" Something in his voice made her tense. As she hears him talk to the communications operator at the command center, she turns and waves Carter and Shannon away. "Go check on the idiot squad. I need a moment." They both nod and disappear.

"Alicia? We're private." He sounds slightly disgruntled, as if he can see an argument coming.

She doesn't waste any time. "Not you, Nathaniel."

"What?"

"You stay there, do you hear me? We've already scared Gracie twice in the last year, between Elisabeth and I getting caught by the nykos and the quarantine. Today is not the day to make it a trifecta. We agreed about this before she was born. One of us is always there." She knows he'll be irked with her for trying to tell him what to do, but she can't not push him on this.

"Damn it, Alicia, you don't get to make this call." His voice is nearly a growl.

She shakes her head and sighs. "You're right, Nathaniel, I don't. You get to make it. So, why don't you march yourself over to Gracie's school, look her in the eye, and tell her we're both going to be gone tonight. And when she asks why, and you _know _she will, I hope you have an answer ready that doesn't scare the bejeezus out of her."

He doesn't reply to that, but she knows he's likely sitting there cringing at the idea of scaring Gracie. He is just as upset by that as Alicia is. She goes to a softer tactic. "Please, Nathaniel. I know that every fiber of your being is probably screaming at you to come out here, but please stay put for Gracie. Skye is probably going to be upset, too, for that matter. Please just stay there."

"You can stop selling me, Alicia. I was sold at the notion of having to explain it to the Bug. But I don't have to like it." He sounds resigned, and Alicia relaxes.

"Thank you, Nathaniel. And please don't let Mira come either. Hopefully, Elisabeth won't let her, or better yet, hopefully she won't want to."

"Copy that. If I have to, I'll order her to stay in colony," he pauses, "Alicia, you be careful."

"I will be," she sighs again, "You know this is my fault, right? I never should have said I was happy and at ease. This is the kind of stuff that always follows when I say something like that."

She hears him chuckle softly. "I love you, Alicia."

She smiles and laughs as well. "I love you too, Nathaniel."

"I'll call you when the teams leave."

"OK, that'll work so long as we don't have to pull the power to shut the speakers off." She rolls her eyes, even though he can't see it.

She jumps when she hears Shannon's voice. "It's off."

Nodding, she says, "It's off, Nathaniel. No need to pull the power."

"Copy that. Stay close. Will call shortly. Terra Nova out."

With that, he's gone. She turns to Shannon. "Did they figure it out?"

Shannon grins. "Nope. They couldn't, so Carter shot the transmitter with a sonic. It flew ten feet across the room. Problem solved. But we may want to disarm Carter. He seemed calm earlier, but he's almost as pissed off as you are."

_Terra Nova_

Nathaniel looks at the group assembled in front of him, including Elisabeth, Guz and Mira. He can tell from the expression on Mira's face that she is itching to volunteer.

A moment later, he knows that Guz could tell the same thing about his wife, because he says, "Sir, I'll put together a team and go."

Mira looks up at him sharply. "Isaac, I…"

Elisabeth stops her, not making Guz be the bad guy. "Mira, stop right there. Same rules for you as I put in place for Alicia. No heading to known predator areas. I'd say this absolutely qualifies."

"I agree with Elisabeth, Mira. You're not grounded, but you're not going on this one." Nathaniel meets her glare head on.

Guz puts a hand on her arm and gently turns her to him. "Mira, please. Listen to them. I know you want to help, but it's not safe. If something happened to you or the baby, I'd…" He goes quiet, his eyes pleading with her to understand.

She looks angry for a moment, but at the look on Guz's face, it fades quickly. She sighs and her defensive posture falls away. "OK, Isaac."

Guz reaches out and hugs her to him. He starts to say something when a commotion outside the office gets all of their attention. A moment later, Skye bursts into the room followed by Malcolm. "Slashers? They're trapped in an outpost by _slashers_?"

Nathaniel cringes and goes over to the clearly very upset young woman. "Skye, they're OK."

"For now," she looks up at him, panicked tears in her eyes, "They're OK _for now._"

Nathaniel can't argue with her, so he just pulls her into him in a hug, and she wraps her arms around him, clinging tight. From behind her, Malcolm asks, "What the hell happened, Taylor? I thought they were just going on a re-supply and to pick up some research results. Are my people all right?"

"Your people are the reason Shannon, Carter and Alicia are stuck out there. They found the notes from years ago, the ones about the one sound we found that really attracts slashers. They wanted to see how effective it really is, so they played it on speakers." Nathaniel glares at Malcolm. "How the hell did those morons make your staff, Malcolm?"

Malcolm bristles slightly. "They're not morons, Taylor." At Nathaniel's arched eyebrow, Malcolm amends, "_This _was moronic. But they aren't usually morons."

"Well, morons or not, consider them all recalled. We're going to have to discuss their managing to put themselves, the outpost and our people in danger, and there will be consequences, even in the case of plain negligence, which is not what I think this was. I assume you have no objection to that, Dr. Wallace." Nathaniel levels a hard look at Malcolm.

The scientist blinks, probably due to the fact that he's not really used to being in the line of fire when Nathaniel is angry. "Of course not. I'm very interested in whatever explanation they attempt to come up with, as this experiment of theirs was certainly neither ordered nor authorized."

Nathaniel nods, and still letting Skye hang onto him, he addresses the others. "Guz, get your team together, at least three rhinos. Take whatever weapons you think you'll need to deal with multiple slashers. Definitely take Reynolds and Reilly, and build out the rest of the team as you see fit. You'll need enough space to bring back the three scientists from the outpost, though."

Guz nods, and Elisabeth starts to speak up. Nathaniel cuts her off. "If you're volunteering to go, the answer is no, Doc. Get with Reilly on any supplies they need. Wash and Carter have been training her. Between her outside and Wash and Carter inside, Guz'll have three very able field medics at his disposal. You stay here. Now, all of you except Mira, dismissed. Mira and I need to talk to Miss Tate here. Guz, report in when your team is assembled and ready to move out."

Guz nods and they all file out, leaving him alone with Skye and Mira. "Hey, little one. They're going to be fine. Carter will be fine."

Mira walks over to them and perches against the edge of the conference table. "Taylor's right, Skye. They'll all be OK."

Skye pulls away from Nathaniel, looking back and forth between him and Mira. Suddenly, she looks almost skittish. "It's always going to be like this, isn't? I'm always going to be left wondering if he'll make it back." She pauses, shaking her head. "I can't do this. I just can't do this."

Mira's eyes narrow slightly. "You can't do _what_, exactly, Skye?"

The young woman begins to pace. "I can't go through with this. Can't marry him. I can't go through this again and again. Why does he have to go OTG like this? Why can't he just work inside the colony?"

Mira looks up at Nathaniel, anger flashing in her eyes. He wants to intervene, but he realizes that Mira may be about to give Skye the reality check she needs. He gives Mira a slight nod, and the older woman immediately steps in front of Skye, hands on Skye's upper arms.

"Really, Skye? How many times did you go OTG when you weren't supposed to? I've only been back in the colony for a few years, and I've heard more stories than I can count. You don't get to question anyone for going OTG, Skye. No way." Mira's voice has a hard edge to it.

Skye deflates a little. "But he could die, Mira. I don't think I can handle…"

Mira's hands appear to tighten on Skye's arms as she cuts Skye off. "So, the answer to that fear is to just dump him? Do you have any idea what that would do to him? How much that would hurt him? Even back when we made you spy for us, he looked out for you and for Deborah. He has _always _had a soft spot for you, even when he didn't let you see it."

Mira stops, and she waits until Skye looks up at her before continuing, "I always thought you were more mature than your years. I gave you a lot of credit for how you handled yourself during all the crap we put you through. If you do this, if you treat him like this, then that credit was undeserved. You knew who he was, you knew what he did day to day before you said yes to his proposal. You don't get to act surprised about it now."

Skye wraps her arms around her torso, and a few tears roll down her cheeks. Nathaniel steps in, putting a hand on her shoulder and turning her to face him. When he speaks, his voice is far gentler than Mira's was. "I know you love him, little one. Do you really believe him getting hurt or, God forbid, killed, would hurt any less if you leave him now, before it happens? Or, would you end up regretting all the time you could've had with him but didn't because you chose to end things?"

Skye looks down and swallows a small sob, and he tilts her face back up with two fingers under her chin. "Trust me, Skye, it would be the latter. If you truly love him, it would be the regret. I know how hard this is. Alicia is out there. Mira knows too; Guz is about to be out there. But this is how it is. This comes with the territory. Even Carter deserves more than being abandoned out of fear, Skye, especially if you love him enough to even consider marrying him, much less to agree to it."

Skye blinks a few times before taking a shuddering breath. Then, after a moment, she nods. She looks at Mira and whispers, "I'm sorry. I don't want to hurt him, and I don't really want to leave him. I just don't want to lose him, either."

Mira's hard expression fades, and after a moment, she holds her arms out to Skye. Skye gives her a weak smile before going to her and letting Mira wrap her up in a hug. Nathaniel gives Mira a nod, and he leaves to go back and call Alicia, hoping that everything is still OK at the outpost.

_OTG Team_

Standing at one of the outpost's windows, a sonic holstered on her thigh and a conventional rifle leaning against the wall next to her, Alicia huffs out a breath as she observes the five remaining slashers she can see milling about outside the outpost's fence. Several of the creatures have already disappeared into the woods around the outpost, but they have no way of knowing if they're gone or just stalking. She sighs. At least Guz and the others should be here soon, bringing a lot more fire power with them.

"At least the banging stopped." At the sound of Carter's voice, Alicia turns to see him and Shannon approach, both carrying rifles and sonics similar to hers.

She snorts and turns back to the window. "Yay."

The two men join her, also looking out at the remaining slashers. After a few moments of silence, Shannon says, "So, 'a high school dropout who joined the military at 18?' That's how you classify yourself? Really?"

She gives Shannon a funny look. "It's the truth, Shannon."

Carter echoes her snort from seconds earlier. "Maybe technically, but who do you think you're fooling, Wash? I've seen your library. Outside of Sun Tzu's _Art of War_, I'd bet you that most of those books are yours, not Taylor's."

She laughs but tries to deflect the conversation. "The Hemingways are his, too. Cranky, drunk bastard. And we each have our own copy of _Art of War. _His is on the shelf. Mine's under my pillow next to my knife."

Shannon shakes his head and Carter laughs. Shannon presses, "Come on, Wash. Most high school dropouts aren't a thing like you. I'd say there's a story there."

She goes quiet. "We all have stories, Shannon."

Carter cocks his head at her. "OK, I'm curious now. You had to get the medical training somewhere, and the love of reading too."

Shannon nods. "Yeah, Wash. What gives?"

Keeping her eyes trained on the slashers, Alicia sighs again. "My mom was a medic. Before she died when I was 14, she helped a lot of people living, like us, outside the domes. She trained me on the fly. I learned mostly by watching and doing."

The men seem surprised by the admission, but Shannon still pushes. "And the books?"

After a beat, Alicia turns her eyes to Shannon. "Ayani Taylor gave me most of them."

Shannon's mouth opens a little in surprise, but it's Carter who quietly asks, "Taylor's first wife?"

She gives him a quick nod and turns back to the window again. "Nathaniel took me from the general medical team when I was eighteen, not long after I'd joined up. When he found out I didn't have any family still alive, he started dragging me home with him on the few days of leave we'd get now and then. Nathaniel, Ayani and Lucas just made me part of the family. Ayani became my surrogate older sister. My relationship with Nathaniel didn't become what it is now until we got here in 2142."

Neither man has time to react, because they hear the sound of gunfire outside the fence. Alicia shakes off the reverie of the last few moments, tightens her body armor and smiles at them. "Cavalry's here."

They both blink and then smile back, similarly adjusting their armor and raising their guns. She looks at Shannon. "Shannon, you stay here and keep an eye on the idiot boys. I'd hate for them to die before Nathaniel can kill them. Carter, with me."

Alicia rolls her eyes as she and Carter slip out the door of the outpost when she hears Shannon whine, "Why do _I _have to stay with the scientists?"

They both take up positions inside the fence, concealed by the large fence poles. Their comms crackle to life a moment later when Guz calls them. When she responds, he says, "Have already taken three of them out, Wash. We're about a hundred yards from your location. How many do you have eyes on?"

She looks at Carter and holds up five fingers. He nods in confirmation, and she quietly replies, "Five, Guz. Carter and I are outside the outpost, inside the fence. We can give you support from this side. Be aware that there were about fourteen of them before. Some may have left, but I think they're more likely stalking."

Guz's voice sounds in her ear again. "Copy that, Wash. We have four rhinos, all armed to the teeth. I'm going to have Reynolds and Reilly peel off and try to draw them out."

"Understood, Guz. We're standing by."

"Thanks, Wash. Guzman out." The connection ends, and they stand ready and waiting, both twitching at every gun blast they hear, both the sonics and otherwise.

After a minute or so, the five slashers at the outpost, all of which have been chattering back and forth, begin to move towards the sound of the rhinos and the gunfire. Alicia hits her comm. "Guz, our five are moving away, looks to be towards you."

She hears the roar of an engine and the sound of sonics in her ear before Guz yells, "Copy, Wash. Don't you and Carter have a rover? We could use a little help rounding up. Reilly and Reynolds both have an injured gunner."

Alicia eyes their rover – usually, these days, she takes a rhino, but for whatever reason, they'd opted for the more open rover this morning. It's battered, Alicia assumes from the slashers beating on it when they couldn't get past the outpost fence. It's only a few feet beyond the gate. She looks at Carter, who gives her a grin and a thumbs up. "Affirmative, Guz. Will call when we're underway."

She ends the connection, and, moving almost as one, she and Carter head to the gate. Within seconds, they're out, gate closed, and into the waiting rover. As Carter jumps in behind her, Alicia tries the ignition. Surprisingly, it turns over and roars to life on the first try.

They peel out, Carter leaning up and out the door opening, rifle ready. Alicia has her rifle next to her and her sonic pistol out and charged in her left hand. They see Reynolds' and Reilly's rhinos heading for the outpost, each with a slasher following. As they pass, Alicia and Carter both open fire.

The next five minutes are a blur of screeching slashers, Carter yelling directions to Alicia and the sounds of conventional and sonic gunfire. But then they're skidding to a stop back at the outpost, the last two rhinos, one driven by Guz and the other by one of the former Sixers, come up behind them. They all get out of their vehicles, knowing that fourteen dead slashers litter the terrain around and behind them.

Alicia grins at Guz. "How's your day going, Guz?"

"Dandy, Wash. Yours?" He grins back.

Carter jumps out of his side of the rover, starting to head over to Alicia's side. They suddenly hear a screech, and one last slasher, one they must have presumed dead given its bloody, battered appearance, comes flying up out of the tree line. It's making a beeline for Alicia, and she turns to try to fire on it, knowing she doesn't really have a shot. She hears Guz yell, "Carter, Wash, down!" She feels a heavy body collide with hers, and then she hears a rifle blast.

Realizing that the heavy body she felt was Carter knocking her to the ground, she sits up quickly, looking for the slasher. She breathes a sigh of relief when she sees it, now obviously dead, with Guz standing over it. "Thanks, Carter."

"Ow." His voice is strained. "Skye's going to be so pissed at me."

She looks over at him and cringes. He's leaned against the side of the rover, cradling his left arm, the shoulder pretty clearly dislocated. She shakes her head. "Well, maybe we'll be able to get you a sling to match your suit."

_Terra Nova, the Next Morning_

The four rhinos and Alicia's rover pull through the gate the next morning, and everyone piles out. Malcolm is there, and he immediately corners his three scientists, yelling and herding them towards his lab. The sight makes Alicia smile. Twits.

Carter gingerly rises from the rover, only to be nearly tackled by Skye in a hug. He groans a little, but wraps his good arm around her as she holds him tight to her. Shannon heads over to Elisabeth and Guz to Mira, and Alicia looks up to see Nathaniel heading for her. He gets to her and hugs her to him. She hears his voice in her ear. "Am really glad you're all right, Lieutenant."

She leans back to look at him, and she presses a soft kiss to his lips. "I almost killed Malcolm's boys. And then I almost let Carter kill them. I think even Shannon considered homicide. Is Gracie at school?" He nods, and then casts a concerned look towards Skye and Carter. She follows his gaze, looking up to see Skye still clinging to Carter. "Is she OK?"

Nathaniel nods again. "Yes. She is now. Yesterday, not really."

He takes her guns and day pack from her, and they turn towards home. As they walk, she asks, "What happened?" After he explains, Alicia blows out a breath and shakes her head. "I'm glad you two were able to calm her down. It would kill him if she left him."

"I know. I'm pretty sure you're exactly right about that."

The concern in Nathaniel's voice surprises her a little, as he's never been all that fond of Carter. "Is that concern for one Carter Mitchell that I hear in your voice, Nathaniel? When did _that _happen?" She smirks at him.

They get to their house, and he opens the door for her, letting her enter first. As he follows her, he says, "I don't know. It appears that the man grows on you. Like a fungus. I actually find the son of a bitch likeable these days."

"We shouldn't tell him that, though. He's more pliable and frankly more fun to mess with when he's afraid of you." She grins.

He laughs as he closes the door. "Good point. Got to keep him on his toes."


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note: **Sorry this last chapter took so long – and thus endeth this one. : )

Note, this is set in the context of my other stories, all relationships are built on in each story. **Disclaimer is as usual – no profit, not mine (except Gracie, of course), just borrowing.**

_If it were not for the presents, an elopement would be preferable. – George Ade _

_Wedding #2_

The night before Skye and Carter's wedding, Alicia finds herself in an unexpected location – Boylan's. Skye had insisted on an old-fashioned rehearsal dinner, and from there, she'd asked most of the female attendees out for an impromptu last bachelorette night.

Alicia was about to decline when Carter grabbed her arm and took her aside. "Wash, you, Mira and the doc have to go. She's going to regret it if she goes too crazy. You can help keep her in line."

She'd raised an eyebrow at him and replied, "Carter, I'll go if you want me to, but I'm not her mother. If your girl wants to get hammered the night before her wedding, that's her call. She's not a baby."

"Wash, come on!" He was almost whining.

Elisabeth and Mira walked up then. "OK, this is what I'll do. I'll go, and I'll make sure she doesn't get hurt or get into trouble. But I will _not _monitor her alcohol consumption."

Elisabeth sighed at that. "I'll go too."

Mira nodded. "But you'll owe us one, Carter."

And that's how the three of them ended up at Boylan's, Mira with a glass of water, Elisabeth and Alicia with something resembling bourbon. They watch, bemused expressions on their faces, as a small pack of twenty-somethings slowly but surely get completely shitfaced.

A couple of hours after their arrival at Boylan's, one of the girls faceplants into the floor, making them all wince. Alicia takes a sip of her drink. "I must be some kind of freak, because you know, even when I was that age, I could hold my liquor. Literally the only time I've ever faceplanted from booze consumption was that one time right after Gracie was born. Remember that, Elisabeth? When you brought that fruit juice mixer stuff over to the house, blended with what must have been about a fifth of one of Boylan's concoctions?"

Elisabeth snorts. "I believe we referred to it as 'fruity varnish.'"

Alicia laughs. "That's right. We need to make some of that again soon."

Shaking her head, Mira says, "I'm suddenly glad I'm pregnant."

Alicia starts to reply but stops when Tasha Guzman, the maid of honor, jumps up and heads for the ladies room, clearly not doing well. All of the other young women, at least the ones still conscious, laugh. Alicia looks at Elisabeth and Mira. "Mira, do you want to go check on…"

Mira interrupts her. "No way."

Elisabeth blinks. "But she's your stepdaughter!"

Mira winces and shakes her head. "I know, but I cannot be around someone who is puking, stepdaughter or not. The morning sickness is subsiding, but I doubt it would stay subsided through someone else horking up their shoelaces."

Alicia looks at Elisabeth. "You're a doctor."

Elisabeth lifts an eyebrow at Alicia. "And you're an experienced field medic!" She looks across the room at the young woman who is still faceplanted on the floor, one of Skye's friends. "And we need to check on that one too."

"Shoot for it? Rock, paper, scissors, loser takes Vomit Girl, winner gets Faceplant Girl?" Alicia offers, making Mira huff out a laugh and Elisabeth nod vigorously.

A few moments later, her rock defeated by Alicia's paper, Elisabeth grumbles and heads for the ladies room to check on Tasha. Alicia goes over to the young woman on the floor. Once she's verified that the young woman is all right, she finds Reilly and Dunham in the bar, notes to herself that she has to consider the fact that they were there together at some other time, and asks them to escort Faceplant Girl and the other guests home.

Alicia then goes back and rounds up Skye and tells her that she, Elisabeth and Mira will take her and Tasha home now. When Skye tries to protest, Alicia cuts her off. "I can call Nathaniel to come collect you instead. Do you find that somehow preferable?" When Skye blanches and looks down, Alicia nods. "I didn't think so."

A short while later, Alicia, Elisabeth and Mira are walking towards Deborah Tate's house with a rather pathetic Skye and Tasha trailing behind them. As they walk, Elisabeth asks, "So, are the rumors correct that you'll be in something of a knockout dress tomorrow, Alicia?"

Alicia grins. "Slinky black jersey, my friend, and let me tell you, post-baby, I didn't think I'd be able to wear something this low cut again. Claire from the market is brilliant at making very clever undergarments. I swear that she's a witch or something."

Mira and Elisabeth both laugh, and Mira says, "Isaac heard about it from Carter, and he's been teasing Taylor about it."

Alicia rolls her eyes. "No wonder he keeps asking me about it. I think he has decided that these weddings are the best thing to happen here in a long time. Between the dresses and the knee high boots," she motions down at the heeled black boots she's wearing, "He's really been enjoying the clothes, if you know what I mean. The boots alone have been a huge hit. The Bug should be down, and she sleeps like a rock, so I'm hoping to get a little more mileage out of them tonight." She gives her friends a wicked grin as they laugh.

From behind them, Skye whines, "Eew, Wash. That's like thinking about my parents having sex. That's just _wrong_."

Instead of replying, Alicia's wicked grin grows even more wicked. She exchanges a look with Elisabeth and Mira, who both grin back and nod. Elisabeth says, "Good idea, Alicia. You know, Josh has moved out and Zoe is at a slumber party with Leah Marcos tonight. I may have to jump Jim when I get home. I have some wonderful new lingerie I've been wanting to _show _him."

At the sound of more groans from behind them, Mira adds, "And I just can't get enough of Isaac these days. I forgot this part of pregnancy. I just want to do it _all the time_, and man, does it feel _amazing_."

This time, it's Tasha protesting. "Oh my God, _Mira_, I didn't need to hear that!"

Gleefully ignoring Tasha and Skye, Alicia nods. "God, yes, that's the only thing I miss about being pregnant. The sex was incredible."

Elisabeth actually giggles. "That's one of the best things about having had three kids. Three rounds of pregnancy sex!"

Tasha moans. "I'm going to be sick again."

Skye adds, also moaning, "And I'm going to be sick for the first time."

With that, they arrive at Deborah's house, where Skye and Tasha are spending the night. Unbeknownst to Skye and Tasha, Alicia had radioed ahead to Deborah. Skye's mom has the light on, and she's waiting for them with the door open. She has a mildly amused look on her face when Skye and Tasha bolt through the open door without so much as a good night to Alicia, Mira and Elisabeth, who all burst out laughing.

Deborah lifts an eyebrow at the three of them, and Alicia explains, "We had to torture them just a little, Deborah."

She smiles. "How so?"

Mira shoots her a grin. "By talking about sex with our respective spouses."

Knowing that Guz and Mira have gone public with Mira's pregnancy, a laughing Elisabeth adds, "And expounding on the merits of pregnancy sex."

Deborah grins back. "Damn, that was the best part of being pregnant!"

They all laugh when, from somewhere in the house, they hear Skye's miserable-sounding voice. "Mom! Not you too! Gross!"

**WT**WT**

"Mama? Mama. Mama! I hungry. Mama?" The small voice penetrates Alicia's brain. Instead of responding, she curls more into Nathaniel's side, pressing her face into his neck. She feels him chuckle under her as a weight joins them on the bed, and a small body trundles up between them, pushing them slightly apart. "Mama? You awake?"

Alicia snorts. "Why don't you ask for Daddy when you're hungry?" She can't help but be glad that, after the boots worked their magic, she put her panties back on along with Nathaniel's t-shirt, and that she made him put his boxer shorts back on.

Gracie's little fingers brush the curtain of dark hair out of Alicia's eyes. "Because Mama right. Daddy not good at food. Mama cook better."

Nathaniel takes his turn to snort. "That's what you get for giving me a hard time about my lack of cooking skills."

Alicia rolls her eyes and ignores him. "Bug, come here." When Gracie snuggles into Alicia, Alicia leans down and whispers into Gracie's ear. "Let's get Daddy, Bug, time for tickles." At Gracie's giggle, Alicia knows she's on board. In a louder voice, she says, "Get him, Bug!" Two flashes of black hair later, and they're all laughing, Nathaniel letting Gracie think she has him pinned down, as she, clad in pink pajamas, sits squarely on his chest.

The little girl turns to look him in the eye and shakes a finger at him. "You should wearn to cook, Daddy. You old enough. Mama could teach you. That way you could make bweakfast sometimes too."

Alicia, sprawled on his left arm and actually truly pinning that limb, laughs out loud at Gracie's stern expression and Nathaniel's look of surprise. She leans over and kisses Nathaniel's cheek. "She's right, Nathaniel. You _are _old enough."

He narrows his eyes at her. Too late, she sees his right arm snake up and wrap around Gracie, making her squeal as he starts to tickle her side. Then, as Alicia reaches forward to help Gracie try to escape, his released left arm grabs her pulls her tight to his side, his arm wrapping tight around her as well, so he has one of them under each arm. Alicia has to huff out a laugh when he says, "Truce, ladies?"

As an answer she knows he'll understand, she relaxes against him. She hears Gracie's voice a moment later. "'K, Daddy. Tuh-roose."

A while later, Alicia watches Nathaniel wash the breakfast dishes. Since Gracie is in the living room playing with some of her wooden toys, a small set of dinosaurs that Carter and Shannon actually got together and fashioned for her, Alicia walks up behind Nathaniel and wraps her arm around him from behind. "Now aren't you glad you listened to me last night when I said we needed to put at least _some _clothes back on?"

He laughs softly. "Yeah, I admit that was a good call."

She nuzzles her face into his neck. "By the way, if Skye can't look you in the eye today, it'll probably be because Mira, Elisabeth and I tortured both her and Tasha a bit last night."

"Alicia, what did you do?"

She nips at the base of his neck. "We may have talked about sex just a little bit. And how pregnancy sex is amazing."

He groans a little. "Alicia!"

Still holding him around the waist, she squeezes her arms, tightening her hold on him. "Well, I'm sorry, but after Elisabeth had to deal with Tasha horking up her guts in the bathroom and I had to make sure that the girl who faceplanted in Boylan's back room was OK, we were feeling a little spiteful!"

He finishes washing the last plate, and, after placing it in the drying rack, he turns around in her arms. Grinning at her, he asks, "And just how horrified were they?"

She grins back and pecks him quickly on the lips. "Let's just say they left a vapor trail behind them trying to get away from us." She pulls away from him. "And you know we're going to kick you out soon, right?"

He frowns. "Come on, Alicia. You don't have to get ready for a while. The wedding isn't until tonight. I've actually got a surprise for you and Gracie."

"Do tell, Commander." She cocks an eyebrow at him.

"Let's all get dressed, and you'll see." He smiles and ignores her suspicious look.

Several hours later, she steps out of the shower, smiling as she thinks about their day. It turned out that one of the people in the market had told him that the trees in the fruit orchards were blooming, so once they were all dressed, he put Gracie on his shoulders and they headed out, Gracie waving at everyone they encountered from her relatively high perch.

He insisted that they stop in the market, and she understood why when, at one of the food vendor's stands, he was handed a basket. He clearly had spent a lot of time planning their day, and it had been wonderful. They'd spent most of it watching Gracie climb up into the low branches of the flowering fruit trees, giggling and coming down with assorted flower petals in her hair.

As he'd spread out a blanket for them to eat lunch, she'd spontaneously slipped a hand into his hair and murmured, "Thank you," against his lips. She won't pretend she doesn't love how easily he can still surprise her.

She wraps her still-wet hair in a towel and pads quietly to Gracie's room. Peering through the door, she sees that Gracie is still sound asleep, napping after their busy day. Nathaniel's plan had been brilliant in more ways than one. Not only did they get to spend a nice day as a family, their activity made Gracie tired enough to take a very long nap, ensuring that she probably will be rested enough to be pleasant at the wedding tonight.

She laughs quietly to herself. Everyone thinks Gracie is adorable and wonderful all the time, but when her little girl gets too tired, her little girl gets _cranky_.

An hour later, Alicia has her hair dried and in a twisted updo, and hers and Gracie's dresses are set out in the bedroom. She hears movement in the hallway, so she goes and finds Gracie out there, holding her stuffed dinosaur and rubbing at her eyes. After giving her a quick bath and washing her hair, she's just gotten Gracie seated at the table with a snack when she hears a knock at the front door.

She opens it to find Jim and Elisabeth standing there, already dressed for the wedding, which is in an hour and a half. She motions them inside. "Where's Zoe?"

They come in, and Elisabeth replies, "She's still with Leah. Leah and Sam's mother is bringing all three of them to the wedding."

Elisabeth and Alicia look to the kitchen a moment later, when they hear what sounds like a man's voice imitating a dinosaur followed by squeals and giggles from Gracie. They walk towards the sound only to encounter Jim growling like a carno and holding a giggling, squirming Gracie upside down. Alicia swallows a grin and puts her hands on her hips, lifting an eyebrow at them.

Jim notices her, gives her a grin, and says, "What?"

At the same time, Gracie squirms again. "Mama help! Unca Dino Shannon got me!"

Instead of rescuing her struggling toddler, Alicia just walks over to them, lifts Gracie's t-shirt and blows a raspberry on her tummy and then walks away as Gracie squeals and giggles again. "You're on your own, Bug. See if Auntie Elisabeth will save you! Mama has to finish getting ready."

As she enters the bathroom to apply her make-up, she hears Gracie squeal again. "Help, Auntie Wisabeth!"

**WT**WT**

A little over an hour later, Alicia is at the pavilion where the wedding is being held. She's dressed and ready, and she's doing her level best to keep Carter calm. They're at the back of the room, and Carter is as twitchy as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. He hasn't really even looked at her. At least his shoulder, injured earlier in the week, is stable enough for him to forgo a sling for the evening.

Carter is actually pacing. She's leaning against the wall watching him, arms crossed, nodding at guests as they begin to arrive. Inside, she is getting some perverse pleasure at the sheer number of people who seem to do a double-take as they realize who she is.

She knows she looks very different from how they are used to seeing her. It's not just the loose updo and softer-than-usual make-up. She's wearing spike heels that make her about four or so inches taller than Carter, and her black dress is a far cry from her camo fatigues.

The dress is, as promised, slinky; it's loose-looking at the top with a fitted, floor-length skirt. The top is a low-cut halter with some rather magical structuring under the soft, draped fabric. It hooks around her neck and the back is more fitted than the front appears to be, tight on her sides, but also very low cut, leaving most of her back exposed. The skirt hugs her hips and is straight to the floor, with a slit on one side that goes all the way to mid-thigh.

Her only jewelry is a pair of simple, dangling silver earrings that belonged to her mother and her wedding ring. Her tags are tucked into a secret pocket that Claire, the dressmaker, added at Alicia's request. She wouldn't wear them with a dress like this, but at the same time, she feels naked without them on her somewhere. Her dress for Mira's wedding had a similar pocket.

"Carter!" She realizes he has been pacing for a good ten minutes, and she doesn't think it's a good idea for the guests to see him appear so nervous.

He stops pacing and looks up at her in surprise, almost as if he forgot she was there. His eyes rake over her, and he mutters, "Holy shit, Wash."

She grins. "Thanks, Carter."

He blinks and then returns the grin. "Well, good to know no one will be looking at me, or, more specifically, none of the men will be looking at me."

She winces. "Is it too much?"

"Hell no!" He shakes his head vigorously, and his eyes rake over her again.

"Carter, given our proclaimed brother-sister relationship, your enthusiasm is starting to feel a little creepy. And, by the way, you're getting married. Maybe getting your letch on about the female best man isn't the best idea?" She gives him an incredulous look.

"Married, not dead, Wash. But you're right. I need to be thinking brotherly thoughts here. I also need to remember that I'm kind of afraid of you. And even more afraid of your very possessive and protective husband." He gives her a sheepish smile. "We're supposed to be up front, aren't we?"

She nods. "We are. But you were busy pacing."

He shrugs and motions for her to head towards the front. As they walk, Carter looks at her. "Wash, were you nervous when you married Taylor?"

"No, at least not the kind of nerves you're probably thinking of. I mean, we'd been together seven years when we got married." She shoots him a game smile. "What we were _both _nervous about was how Hope Plaza would react when and if they found out. We had a whole lot on the line, you know?"

"Good point. The loss of the portal actually helped you two, didn't it?"

"Honestly, at least in terms of our personal relationship, yes, no question. It gave us a lot of freedom to be open about our relationship. But I know it cost a lot too, and that it cost some people more than others." She looks down.

Carter stops her with a hand on her arm, and she looks up to meet his eyes. "Mira doesn't blame you. She doesn't blame anyone. You know that, right?"

She nods. "Yeah. But I still feel bad about it, Carter. And that's enough of that for today," she starts walking again, and he follows. "Now, why are you nervous?"

"It's just big, and I don't want to let her down. I don't exactly have a history of being reliable."

This time, she stops him. "Bullshit." He gives her a questioning look, and she repeats, "That's bullshit, Carter. You were Mira's second for years, and you've served us well for years too. Not to mention the fact that you saved me and Gracie not once but twice."

His face becomes confused, so she explains, "Once from Lucas, and again when I had my abruption. You were the one who saved us both times. I have a _very _short list of people I trust with my life, with Nathaniel's and Gracie's lives, and you're on it, Carter. So cut the 'I'm not reliable' crap. Just like you're lucky to have her, she's also lucky to have you. Don't forget that, Big Brother."

His eyes soften, and for a brief moment, she thinks he might actually hug her. He breaks into a smile instead, taking her hand and squeezing it hard. "Thanks, Wash."

She squeezes back. "Anytime, Carter. Now come on. Let's set you up with your own personal ball and chain."

"Ha ha."

After dinner, Alicia is standing off to the side of the dance floor, watching pairs move to the music. Nathaniel is dancing with Skye, something that makes a warm smile come to Alicia's face. She then laughs softly, thinking about Nathaniel's expression when he saw her dress. Sitting next to him at dinner, Alicia was glad that Zoe and Leah occupied Gracie, as Nathaniel spent a good part of the meal basically groping Alicia under the table. She eventually had to playfully slap his hand away as she gave him a stern glance.

She feels a tug at her dress, and she looks down to see Gracie attaching herself to Alicia's leg. "Up, Mama?"

Alicia smiles and bends down to lift Gracie up into her arms. Gracie's fluffy purple dress is adorned with a big, darker purple sash tied into a bow, and she has purple and pink flowers in her hair. Another slow song starts. "Bug, would you like to dance?"

Gracie smiles and wraps her little arms around Alicia's neck, resting her head on Alicia's bare shoulder. "'K, Mama. We dance. But you wead. Gwacie tired."

She lets Gracie settle on her hip, and they move out onto the dance floor. Alicia takes Gracie's right hand and pretends to lead them around the floor. Out of the corner of her eye, Alicia sees Carter cut in on Nathaniel and Skye, and, after what looks like a slight scowl from Nathaniel, he relinquishes his hold on Skye, passing her to Carter. Before she lets Carter lead her away, Skye goes up on her tiptoes and kisses Nathaniel on the cheek.

Gracie suddenly feels like a dead weight, and Alicia looks down to see her fast asleep on Alicia's shoulder. She smiles, and seeing Nathaniel approaching, she just keeps swaying gently to the music. When he gets to them, he wraps an arm around Alicia and pulls them both close. As if sensing his presence, Gracie shifts in her sleep, actually leaning into him. The small motion allows him to smoothly transfer Gracie to his right hip, her head moving to his shoulder.

After that, Alicia wraps her left arm around his waist, and she lets him take her right hand with his free left. They essentially lead each other slowly around the floor, and she can tell that other guests are watching them, probably making random assessments of their cuteness.

Years ago, the attention would have made her uncomfortable, but these days, she's used to drawing people's focus. She can easily accept that their prominence in the colony makes them interesting to the colonists, even though Alicia knows that, for all of the oddity that exists when you live in a world populated by dinosaurs, their lives are actually relatively simple and quiet of late.

Nathaniel leans forward and nuzzles her neck. "You're quiet tonight. Thinking about being happy again?"

Alicia smiles and leans into him. "Even if I was, I wouldn't admit it. You never know when Murphy's Law will kick in."

He chuckles. "I figured you'd say that." After a beat, he says, "I think Malcolm is thinking about asking Deborah to marry him."

She groans and drops her head to his shoulder. "Even if we're asked, can we sit the next one out? Please? I'm tired."

He laughs softly again. "Well, I might have to actually perform the ceremony, but outside of that, I think we can lay low."

"Thank you," she replies, her voice slightly muffled by the fabric of his dress uniform.

As the music continues, Alicia suddenly realizes that Nathaniel is slowly guiding them towards the edge of the dance floor. She raises her head, lifting an eyebrow at him. He gives her a soft, appraising look. "You ready to get out of here?"

She smiles softly back. "Hmm. Yes."

He leans forward, growling into her ear. "Good, because once we get the Bug to bed, I plan to make it very clear to you that I've never seen you look more beautiful than you look tonight."

She turns her head, gently bumping her nose against his before kissing him. When she pulls back, she tightens her hand in his. "Well then, by all means, take us home, Commander."

He grins and pulls her towards the edge of the Pavilion and out into the empty space of the marketplace after dark. "Yes, ma'am." Hand in hand, they head home through the quiet, starlight night, Gracie sound asleep on his shoulder.


End file.
